The British student jailed for 25 years in Dubai after making a “very stupid mistake” has been released, marking a major update in a case that has been in and out of headlines throughout the latter half of 2025.
Mia O’Brien, a law student at the University of London, was in the Middle East last year on holiday when police raided a party and allegedly found 50 grams of cocaine. The drug reportedly had a street value of around $3,300, and its presence was enough to see O’Brien convicted of drug supply and possession charges on July 25.
As per The Sun, Mia was arrested along with her friend and the friend’s boyfriend. The trio were charged with drug dealing – which carries notoriously harsh punishments in Dubai –and Mia was handed a 25-year sentence. The student was also fined over $100,000 by the court.
The 23-year-old pled not guilty at a trial said to have been held entirely in Arabic. Nevertheless, she was sentenced to a quarter of a century behind bars at Al-Awir Central Prison, a facility previously been described as a ‘hellhole’.
Writing on a since-deleted GoFundMe, Mia’s mother Danielle said: “I haven’t seen my daughter since last October. Mia is only 23 years old and has never done a bad thing in her life.
“This is a young girl, who went to university to do law, and unfortunately got mixed up in the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake and is now paying the price.”
GoFundMe was forced to take down the fundraiser as it broke rules regarding money being raised to help with the legal defences for certain crimes. In a statement to The Sun, the site explained: “It was removed because it violates Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service. Term 9 prohibits raising funds on GoFundMe for the legal defence of certain alleged crimes.”
In response, Danielle set up another fundraiser on Facebook, desperately trying to spread the word in a bid to help her daughter get home.
It was via social media that Danielle gave a shock update recently confirming that Mia had been set free.
“Thank you so much everyone, am still in shock, am buzzing, can’t wait to give her the tightest cuddle ever,” the relieved mom wrote.
“She’s coming home, she’s coming home, my baby is coming home.”
At the time of writing, the manner and reasoning behind Mia being released remains unclear. Her mother had been working alongside the campaign group Detained in Dubai to try and appeal the conviction and secure her release.
Mia had been sharing a prison cell with six other women and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. As per the latest, however, it appears that she could well be home in time for Christmas.
