A British teenager is facing a 20-year jail sentence in Dubai after developing a holiday romance with another tourist.
Marcus Fakana, 18, was on holiday with his parents when he met a girl, 17, staying at the same hotel.
After having sex, the teenagers made plans to continue their “blossoming” teenage romance when they returned to London, according to Detained in Dubai.
But the campaign group says he is now stuck in Dubai facing decades in prison after the girl’s parents looked through her phone and reported him to the police when they got home.
Mr Fakana, from Tottenham, north London, claims he did not know the girl was months younger than him when they met. Their relationship would be legal in the UK.
Dubai has only recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists but still has a strict Islamic legal system.
“We had a wonderful time together. We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict. My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy”, Mr Fakana told Detained in Dubai.
“When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door. They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified”.
Mr Fakana says he was held at a police station for three days and was unable to make a phone call or speak with his parents.
“They were worried sick”, said Radha Stirling, Detained in Dubai’s chief executive who is assisting Mr Fakana. “He was told his girlfriend’s mother had reported the relationship to authorities in Dubai after she had arrived back in London.
“Marcus later found out the mother had looked on her daughter’s phone and found their chats and pictures. She was furious and reported him to Dubai’s police.
“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.
“The girl was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time. This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.
“Parents will be scared to take their older teenagers on vacation with them where they could end up losing their lives over behaviour that’s completely legal in their own countries,” added Ms Stirling.
Marcus and his family are calling on Tottenham MP David Lammy for help after he was appointed as foreign secretary in July.
Ms Stirling, a veteran expert witness in extradition cases involving the United Arab Emirates, said: “Mr Lammy is in a perfect position to help young Marcus.
“Dubai police have the power to drop the case against Marcus and let him come home. This is not something we want to do to young people and we ask Mr Lammy MP to convey this message to his counterparts in the UAE.”
The saga comes after a Northern Irish man was detained in Dubai over a negative review he left on a dog grooming company’s website.
Craig Ballentine, 33, from Cookstown, County Tyrone, was arrested a month ago when he landed in Abu Dhabi for a short vacation to visit friends and has been transported to Dubai.
Detained in Dubai said Mr Ballentine is facing prison because of the UAE’s cybercrime laws, which prohibit online criticism.
The Independent has contacted the Foreign Office and Dubai’s Ministry of Justice for comment.
