The British teenager being held in a Dubai prison after having sex with a 17-year-old girl (also British) in the country had issued a plea to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, asking to be released.
Marcus Fakana, 19, from Tottenham, London, was on a family holiday in Dubai last summer when he slept with the young woman, now 18, who was also on holiday with her family in the UAE.
The girl’s mum discovered texts on her phone which revealed her secret holiday romance, and then waited until they were both safely back in the UK before contracting authorities in Dubai to tell them that Marcus Fakana had slept with her 17-year-old daughter. As Marcus was still in Dubai at this time, police showed up to his accommodation and arrested him.
At the time, the teen said he ‘couldn’t imagine what’ police wanted to question him for when they showed up at his hotel door, leaving him and his parents ‘terrified’.
Rasha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, said at the time: “This is clearly a very strict mother to involve police in a private matter that is completely legal in the country where she lives and where the children have grown up.
“Perhaps she wasn’t aware that she triggered the possibility of a young man of only 18 spending the next 20 years in prison.”
Fortunately for Marcus, he was sentenced to “only” one year inside Al Awir Prison, and that was last December so he’s already done six months. Even still, Marcus has decided to write a letter to the Sheikh asking for a pardon and to let him go home early.
Stirling said: “Marcus is struggling, and this experience will leave a permanent scar.
“We implore Sheikh Mohammed and the government of Dubai to hear his pleas and let him come home.”
The legal aid company has been supporting the teen and his family, as they said it has been ‘the most traumatic and life-altering experience imaginable’ for him.
“He is barely an adult himself, and never intended to break any law,” Stirling added.
“What happened was legal in the UK and consensual. But now he is facing permanent damage to his mental health and future prospects because of it.”
Detained in Dubai said Fakana is only able to have short, sporadic calls with his family, who have appealed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the British Embassy in Dubai for help in trying to get him released early.
“If Marcus could go back in time, he would. He has shown remorse and fully respects the laws of the UAE. He only hopes the government will show compassion and allow him to return home to rebuild his life,” Stirling said.
“He’s very young and this is a heart-breaking way to begin adulthood.”
Sex with anyone who is under the age of 18 is illegal in Dubai. While the UAE has relaxed certain laws in recent years to attract tourists and improve its perception abroad, their regulations are still based on Shariah law at the end of the day, so young Marcus definitely made a grave error when deciding to sleep with the girl he met out there.
Even still, the mum of this girl should be ashamed of herself. Does she really think that this lad deserves to be in prison because her daughter had sex with him while on holiday? The worst part is that she waited until her and her daughter were back in the UK before grassing Marcus up to the Dubai police, meaning he got punished and her daughter got away with it (provided she never steps foot in Dubai again, which I’m sure she won’t). Just the absolute worst type of person to want to ruin the boy’s life like this and the lives of his family as well.
Good luck to Marcus and here’s hoping the Sheikh is having a good day when he reads his letter because it would be great if could get home as soon as possible.
For the British dad who was recently sentenced to 40 years in Dubai jail after being caught with £2,000 of cocaine, click HERE. Can’t plead ignorance on that one.
