A British teenager is facing up to 20 years in jail for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old in Dubai.
Marcus Fakana, 18, was on holiday with his parents in August when he met a fellow Londoner staying at the same hotel and a “holiday romance” blossomed, according to human rights group Detained in Dubai. The pair had plans to continue their relationship when they returned to London.
He was later charged with sex with a girl aged 17 after the girl's mother allegedly reported their relationship to the police after discovering conversations with Fakana on her daughter’s phone.
Detained in Dubai said that Fakana had been held “at the notorious Al Barsha police station for three days, unable to make a phone call or speak with his parents” following his arrest.
Fakana’s family holiday had “turned into a months-long ordeal that could lead to 20 years in prison”, the human rights group said. The girl is now 18.
Fakana, from Tottenham, said: “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.
“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”.
Radha Stirling, Detained in Dubai’s chief executive who is assisting Mr Fakana, said: “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.”
She added: “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.”
Fakana and his family have called on Tottenham MP David Lammy to help with the case following his appointment as Foreign Secretary in July.
Ms Stirling said the Cabinet minister was in a “perfect position” to assist.
“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,” she said.
In its travel advice for Britons holidaying in Dubai, the Department of Foreign Affairs states: “Consensual sexual relationships between a male and female outside marriage are generally legal as long as both are over the age of 18 years.
“However, if either person’s spouse or parent/guardian files a criminal complaint, then both parties of an extramarital consensual relationship can get a prison sentence of six months or longer.”
Fakana said that he had been living in an Air BnB since he was detained, costing his family £2,000 a month. His parents have since left Dubai to work.
“They earn a humble living, my mother is a cleaner and my dad works in a warehouse. They saved up for this one off holiday and they have now used all of their savings,” he said.
“The police demanded 10,000 AED for bail which I’ve been told is not normal and the costs are mounting. I’m here all alone. I pray this nightmare will be over and I’ll be home for Christmas.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with his family”.
The Standard has contacted the UAE Ministry of Justice for comment.
