A British woman’s GoFundMe page for her daughter, who is serving a life sentence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been cancelled for violating the platform’s rules.
The 23-year-old student, Mia O’Brien, currently interned in the Middle Eastern territory’s central prison, was last seen in the United Kingdom in October 2024.
While not saying what her daughter had been convicted of, the woman used the platform to raise funds so that they could visit the incarcerated O’Brien.
Highlights
- A GoFundMe page to support Mia O’Brien, 23, jailed for life in Dubai, has been removed.
- Her mother said she only wanted help to visit her daughter, whom she hasn’t seen since October 2024.
- The family has not disclosed the conviction, but UK outlets suggest it may be substance-related.
The distraught mother claims her daughter threw in with the wrong crowd
Image credits: Wael Hnein/Unsplash
“Mia has been given a life sentence in Dubai and she is now in central prison,” the distraught mother wrote on the now-deleted GoFundMe page.
“As you can all probably imagine, as her mother I am absolutely devastated. 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,” she claimed.
Image credits: GoFundMe
“This is a young girl, who went to university to do law, and unfortunately got mixed up with the wrong so-called friends and made a very stupid mistake and is now paying the price.”
No mention was made about who the friends were.
She was trying to raise money to visit her daughter in prison
“So all I ask is if you can donate anything you can spare, even if it's a £1, it could help up massively and I would be forever grateful. Thank you so much,” her appeal read.
Image credits: GoFundMe
Then later, she weighed in again, saying:
“I just want to thank everyone for their donations so far, this money will be used to send to my daughter Mia, and also for any legal fees that may arise, and maybe even to go towards getting family over to Dubai to see her, as none of us have seen Mia since last October, so thank you all so much.”
A specialist in the field says the UAE jails people over cases Western courts will consider frivolous
The Daily Mail reported on a conversation with the woman on September 5.
Image credits: GoFundMe
She told the outlet:
“She's (Mia) going through it at the minute. She's just been transferred to another prison after getting a life sentence.”
“It’s been a massive shock.”
The UAE is known for its ultrastrict laws, which often becomes a minefield for visiting foreigners.
Radha Stirling, a human rights advocate assisting individuals who run afoul of these regulations, told Business Insider in 2019:
Image credits: GoFundMe
“People are convicted every day in cases that would be instantly thrown out of a Western court either for lack of evidence, improper procedure, or for just being frivolous.”
One woman was arrested for calling her ex-husband’s new wife a horse
The article listed five examples of individuals who were locked up unjustly, including Laleh Shahravesh, who was jailed for calling her ex-husband’s new wife a horse, and Ali Issa Ahmad, who was beaten up for wearing a Qatari football shirt.
When he reported the assault, he was locked up for wasting the police’s time.
Image credits: GoFundMe
Then there was Andy Neal, who relocated his family to the UAE and was then convicted on substance–related charges.
She was then asked if she had been drinking, and when she had confirmed that she had a glass of complimentary wine on the plane, she was locked up for possession of alcohol.
British PhD student Matthew Hedges was coerced into signing a confession in Arabic saying he was a spy and locked up. He was later pardoned due to immense international pressure.
Despite getting off lightly, Hedges doubts he will ever be the same.
Numerous UK outlets suggest the incarcerated Brit was convicted over a substance-related infraction
Image credits: GoFundMe
Outlets like the Daily Mail and Mirror, however, are favoring speculation that O'Brien was involved in substance trafficking.
Citing a government website warning UK travelers, it wrote:
“There is zero tolerance for [substance]-related offences. The penalties for trafficking, smuggling, using and possessing illegal [recreational substances] (including residual amounts) are severe.”
GoFundMe does not allow fundraising for certain types of legal defenses
Image credits: Getty Images/Unsplash
Speaking to the UK Sun, a GoFundMe representative explained that O Brien's page was removed because it violated “Term 9 of the Prohibited Conduct section in our Terms of Service.”
Said “Term 9” forbids using the platform to raise funds for the legal defense of certain unspecified crimes.
Netizens were amused that a law student broke the law in Dubai
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