As Mia O’Brien’s Appeal Looms, Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai Warns of Flawed Evidence and Repeat Failures in Dubai Justice System
British law student Mia O’Brien, 23, is preparing to appeal her 25-year sentence in Dubai after being convicted of drug possession in a one day trial held entirely in Arabic. Despite pleading not guilty, Mia was found guilty in proceedings her family and legal advisers have condemned as deeply unfair.
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, has warned that Mia’s ordeal reflects the same systemic failures in Dubai’s justice system that have repeatedly harmed British nationals. “Dubai police have a history of rushing to secure convictions without the rigorous evidentiary standards we expect in the UK. We’ve seen fabricated confessions, reliance on circumstantial evidence, and a disregard for due process. I would urge the public to withhold judgement. Mia’s case could be the latest in a long line of miscarriages of justice.”
Stirling noted that Mia’s experience is not unique. In 2020, 23-year-old Emirates flight attendant Derrin Crawford was jailed for two months after being caught up in her date’s arrest when police found cannabis in his flat. She tested negative and had no involvement, but was imprisoned nonetheless. In another case, British Army veteran Andy Neal spent more than a year behind bars accused of being part of a drug gang before he was fully exonerated when the evidence collapsed and police were found to be manufacturing the narrative.
“Both Derrin and Andy were innocent yet Andy suffered years behind bars because of the UAE’s defective policing and prosecutorial practices,” Stirling said. “Mia has pleaded not guilty from the start, but the system has already failed her. Unless this appeal is taken seriously, she risks losing decades of her life.
Stirling has long highlighted the systemic problems with Dubai policing, including reliance on forced or misrepresented statements taken without legal representation, contaminated or missing evidence in narcotics cases, and a culture of ‘guilt by association’, where foreigners are arrested simply for being present. “The UAE authorities have shown again and again that their investigations cannot be trusted,” she added.
Stirling concluded that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office should review and expand its travel warnings to reflect the risks posed by police conduct, unreliable evidence, and unfair trials in the UAE, so that British citizens are fully aware of the dangers before travelling.
