Horrific conditions Brit jailed for life in Dubai faces in notoriously violent prison

Her mother said the young woman is in a 'living hell'.

23-year-old Mia O'Brien of Huyton, Merseyside was caught with 50 grams of cocaine in the Middle East in October, resulting in a life sentence.

In July, the Liverpool University student pleaded guilty to the offence, but following a day-long hearing, she was convicted.

She was also fined £100,000 by the court.

She was found with 50 grams of cocaine, which has an estimated street value of approximately £2,500 in the UK.

The young woman currently remains in a cell in Dubai Central Prison with six other inmates.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, her mother Danielle said her daughter is 'absolutely devastated.'

"Mia feels she has destroyed her life as she wanted to be a lawyer or solicitor.

'"I speak to her but she can't say too much on the phone," explained the 46-year-old.

She continued: "She's just made a stupid mistake after going over to see a friend and her boyfriend in Dubai.

"But she paid for her own flight as she had a bit of savings. No one paid for her flight so she's not one of these wannabe influencers."

Danielle further added that her daughter wasn't 'asked to bring anything back. She was caught with cocaine in an apartment.'

"It was about 50 grams and there were two other people - her friend included. They have been charged with drug dealing.

"I don't know whether the friend's boyfriend was a drug dealer but I feel he has a lot to answer for."

"She is absolutely devastated by what has happened. Mia is being really strong but I know she is going through a living hell.

"The prison conditions are horrendous. There are no staff really and she has to bang on a big door if she needs anything.

"She's seen fights and said she has been really scared," commented the worried mother."

The prison is notorious for its brutal conditions, with inmates packed into overcrowded cells and tortured for confessions.

Additionally, according to a report from last year, rape is an 'every day occurrence' in the jail, with violent assaults carried out both by inmates and guards.

Beds can be shared by several people at a time, with as many as 20 people sharing four person cells.

"She was crying on the phone and saying: 'Oh mum - please forgive me',

"I was just so shocked and heartbroken as she's never done anything like that," her mother added.

The 23-year-old has not paid the court's 500,000 dirham fine and is due to have an appeal in the coming weeks.

Her mother revealed that Mia hopes 'she might get sent back to serve her sentence here after Ramadan when they might do clemency deals.'

"We we were all shocked by the sentence she was given.

"But Mia is being really brave about it but she really misses her two young brothers who are aged just five and seven.

"She just wants to come home. I want her home too - she's my only daughter," she said.

Some past inmates from Dubai prisons shared details of the horror they have witnessed, including Brit Karl Williams who was jailed for a year in 2012.

In his memoir he revealed how he saw men being stabbed to death, had electric shocks administered to his testicles and feared corrupt police would gang rape him.

"I saw men get stabbed in the neck and others sliced down their faces. Blood splattered every surface as prisoner after prisoner was sliced," he said.

He also added that the prison was run by Russian gangsters who would use HIV-positive inmates to rape and infect others as punishment.