Michael Slavin
An 18-year-old Brit has been jailed after having a 'holiday romance' in which he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Marcus Fakana, from London was on holiday with his family in the UAE, and has now been sentenced to a year in prison.
The 17-year-old, who he met at his hotel, is also believed to be from London.
The campaign group 'Detained in Dubai' have stated that the teenager feels 'abandoned' by the British government.
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The family of Fakana asked David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, to intervene in a statement.
Radha Sterling, the Chief Executive of Detained in Dubai, said last month: “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.”
Fakana reportedly told Sterling of the incident: "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."
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Dubai has just recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists, but still operates under a strict Islamic legal system.
Sterling, who was assisting Fakana and his family, 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.
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"Perhaps she wasn’t aware that she triggered the possibility of a young man of only 18 spending the next 20 years in prison."
Fakana was facing a maximum of 20 years, though has since been sentenced to one year in prison.
Ms Sterling went on to say: “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".
Fakana is expected to appeal against his sentence.
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A foreign office spokesperson said: “We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with his family.”