The family of a British teen who is facing the potential of spending up to 20 years in a Dubai prison have appealed to the foreign secretary for help getting him home.
According to human rights group Detained in Dubai, 18-year-old Marcus Fakana of Tottenham travelled to the Middle Eastern city for a holiday with his parents on 26 August.
While over there he struck up a romance with a fellow Londoner who was also out there, with Marcus telling the human rights group that they 'had a wonderful time together' and he told his parents about the relationship but she couldn't tell hers 'because they were strict'.
"She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy," the 18-year-old explained.
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"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."
At the time of the relationship, the girl was 17 years old. and while Dubai did recently make sex outside of marriage legal for tourists, both people must be at least 18 years old.
The girl has since turned 18, but Marcus was told that her mother had reported the relationship to authorities in Dubai after their family had returned to London.
The Tottenham lad had been informed that the girl's mother allegedly found out after looking through her daughter's phone.
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Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling said the woman was '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'.
However, she added that the woman might not have known she was potentially condemning Marcus to up to 20 years in prison.
After police arrived at his hotel room, the 18-year-old was held at Al Barsha Police Station for three days,, During that time. he was not allowed to contact his parents or call anyone.
Marcus is still over in Dubai and facing the prospect of up to 20 years behind bars, prompting requests from his family to foreign secretary David Lammy to help get him back to the UK, while they've been spending a lot of money to provide him with somewhere to live out there.
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He said: "I’m living in Airbnbs that are costing my family £2,000 per month. They had to go home 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. 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."
Topics: Crime, Travel, UK News, World News
Joe Harker