Inside Dubai's 'Alcatraz' where Mia O'Brien will spend her life: Former British inmates who endured confinement in notorious Al-Awir say mixed prison is ran by Russian gangsters who mete out rape and HIV infections as a punishment
By Sabrina Penty
Daily Mail
Sep 6, 2025
Entrance to Dubai's Al-Awir central prison in the United Arab Emirates
A British woman is being held in a Dubai prison dubbed 'the Middle East's Alcatraz' that former inmates have claimed is run by Russian gangsters after she was caught with 50g of cocaine.
Mia O'Brien, 23, from Huyton, Liverpool, 'made a very stupid mistake', according to her mother Danielle McKenna, 46, after her daughter was given a life sentence.
Mia has been locked up in the notorious Al-Awir Central Prison, which is used for both male and female convicts and is located some 30km from Dubai's towering hotels and lavish shopping malls.
Horror stories from British inmates who have been previously jailed there paint a disturbing picture of its hellish conditions.
Briton Karl Williams was imprisoned at Al-Awir in 2012 after police found narcotics in his rental car following a drug bust.
He claims he was tortured by authorities and witnessed beatings in the prison he went on to call 'the Alcatraz of Dubai'.
Karl wrote a memoir following his release, in which he described how he witnessed inmates being stabbed to death in violent brawls that were not interrupted by guards.
He also claimed to have had his testicles electrocuted during a police interrogation.
Brit Mia O'Brien is being held at the notorious Al-Awir, where former inmates claimed to have been tortured
Mia was jailed after she was found with 50g of cocaine
'It was unbelievably painful. I was so scared. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room', he said in a statement.
Karl also claimed Russian gangsters ran the prison wards and allegedly used HIV-positive inmates to rape and infect others as a form of punishment.
Human Rights Watch said in a report that at least four HIV-positive prisoners at Al-Awir were allegedly denied medication up to five months.
A British football coach who was jailed in Dubai after four bottles of vape liquid containing cannabis oil were found in his car also claims to have witnessed tortures and said prisoners were left to die from illnesses.
Relatives of inmates at Al-Awir have also claimed that prisoners have been forced to sign documents in Arabic at gunpoint.
Dubai's prison system and government deny all the claims.
It is not known what crime Mia has been convicted of, but life sentences in the Emirates can be given in cases of drug trafficking, depending on the circumstances and the amount of drugs.
Other crimes attracting life terms – which in Dubai is usually around 15 years – include serious violence and terrorism.
It is not known what crime Mia has been convicted of, but life sentences in the Emirates can be given in cases of drug trafficking, depending on the circumstances and the amount of drugs
Inmates wearing protective gear read in seats respecting distancing measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at the library of Dubai's Al-Awir central prison in the United Arab Emirates, on May 21, 2020
An inmate wearing protective gear receives a virtual visit at Dubai's Al-Awir central prison in the United Arab Emirates, on May 21, 2020
'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', mother Danielle wrote in a fundraising site, asking for help in raising money to cover her daughter's legal costs.
Danielle told the Daily Mail: 'She's 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 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office starkly warns visitors to Dubai on its website: 'There is zero tolerance for drugs-related offences.
'The penalties for trafficking, smuggling, using and possessing illegal drugs (including residual amounts) are severe.
'Sentences for drug trafficking can include the death penalty. Possession of even the smallest amount of illegal drugs, including cannabis, can lead to a minimum 3-month prison term or a fine of between 20,000 UAE dirham (£4,000) and 100,000 UAE dirham (£20,000).
'The Emirati authorities count the presence of drugs in the blood stream as possession.
'Some 'herbal highs' and products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are illegal in the UAE.
'Possessing, concealing or making transactions with money from drugs-related offences is illegal. You could get a prison sentence and a fine.
'UAE airports have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items, including cannabis. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers. You can be arrested for carrying drugs, even residual amounts.'
An FCDO Spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman detained in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.'
A British teen was jailed in Dubai for having sex with a fellow UK tourist he met on holiday last year.
Marcus Fakana, 19, was arrested and imprisoned last year over a consensual holiday relationship with another British tourist who was just a few months younger than himself - a fact he was not aware of at the time.
The girl was one month away from turning 18, but sex with anyone under the age of 18 is an offence in the Gulf state. They met when both their families were staying at a luxury hotel.
The girl's mother reported Marcus - who was aged 18 at the time - to the UAE authorities after seeing messages between the two when she had returned to the UK.
His case drew widespread attention and outrage, highlighting the UAE’s harsh laws that criminalise personal relationships and critics say disproportionately target foreign nationals.
He was released in July and returned to the UK after receiving a royal pardon from Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
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