Jess Battison
There has been a major update in the case of the British teen jailed in Dubai after having sex with a girl on holiday.
Marcus Fakana, 19, recently made a plea to the ruling Sheikh, having been sentenced in December to one year in prison.
Aged 18 at the time, the teen from Tottenham, north London, had engaged in a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old Brit while on a family holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While the girl was reportedly a month away from turning 18, the age of consent in the Gulf state is 18.
Having been ‘struggling’ in the Dubai prison over the last several months, Fakana has now returned home to the UK following a royal pardon from Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
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The authorities were alerted to the relationship between the teens when the girl returned to the UK and her mum saw messages between them.
The mother then reported Fakana and police showed up at his hotel door, leaving him and his parents ‘terrified’.
“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,” Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, said at the time
“Perhaps she wasn’t aware that she triggered the possibility of a young man of only 18 spending the next 20 years in prison.”
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There has been a month-long campaign to secure the royal pardon from the ruling Sheikh, with Fakana said to have ‘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.”
Marcus returned to the UK on 3 July and a video shared by the campaigners this morning said that he is ‘currently recovering’ from the ordeal.
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“This was an extraordinary young man caught in a deeply unjust system. We thank everyone who stood by Marcus and helped bring him home,” Stirling said.
“Marcus is back where he belongs, but no one should have to endure this.”
She added that the impact on the teen’s life has been ‘severe’ and that there wasn’t a ‘need for him to endure such trauma’.
“It all happened so fast and he was nervous until the plane left the tarmac. We are relieved Marcus was released early from his 1 year long prison sentence,” Stirling continued.
“Thank you to both the British Embassy and the Dubai government for supporting the pardon process. We do suggest an expedited legal process is put in place for tourists to reduce the number of unnecessary custodial sentences.”
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LADbible has contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment.