A British student detained in a Dubai prison is worried that her future is ruined after allegedly being found in possession of Class-A drugs. The 23-year-old, hailing from Liverpool, received a life sentence in October for reportedly having 50 grams of cocaine, as per her distressed mother, Danielle McKenna.
Following a swift trial on July 25, she was convicted, fined £100,000, and transferred to the notorious Dubai Central prison. Despite pleading not guilty to drug supply charges, the Liverpool University law student now shares a space with six other inmates.
According to Danielle, Mia managed to speak briefly with her from the prison but couldn’t disclose much about her situation. “Mia feels she has wrecked her life as she aspired to pursue a career in law,” Danielle shared with the Daily Mail.
During their conversation, Mia tearfully sought forgiveness from her mother, insisting she is not a drug user. Describing her daughter’s confinement as “horrific,” Danielle mentioned that Mia has to signal for assistance by banging on a large door.
Danielle maintains that her daughter is innocent and has endured a grave injustice following the rapid trial conducted in Arabic, where Mia only learned of her sentence later through her lawyer. She emphasized Mia’s profound distress over the situation, emphasizing the harrowing ordeal her daughter is facing.
Despite not settling the court’s fine, Mia is slated for an appeal in the coming weeks. Danielle has turned to Facebook to request support for covering her daughter’s legal expenses after her initial GoFundMe page was removed for policy violations.
Expressing gratitude for the support, Danielle indicated her intention to launch a new fundraising initiative to avoid platform regulations. GoFundMe confirmed the deletion of the original fundraiser was due to its association with legal defences for specific alleged offenses, which contravenes their terms of service.