Campaigners claim British teen facing 20 years in prison for sleeping with girl on holiday had information wrongly recorded
Police in Dubai deliberately tampered with the details of the British teen who is facing 20 years in prison after a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl, campaigners have claimed.
Marcus Fakana, 18, was holidaying in the UAE city with his family back in August when he ran into serious legal trouble after a consensual encounter with another Brit holidaymaker.
The girl is said to have kept their relationship under wraps due to her strict parents, but Marcus happily divulged details of it to his relatives.
After her family returned to the UK, the mother of Marcus' holiday pal discovered the pair had sex after going through her daughter's phone.
Advert
Authorities in Dubai were alerted and Marcus was arrested in his hotel room and held at Al Barsha Police Station for three days.
Although the relationship would have been legal if it had taken place in London - where both Marcus and the girl live - this is not the case in Dubai.
The law was only recently changed to allow tourists to have sex outside of marriage, but it requires both participants to be aged 18 or older.
The government of Dubai said: "Under UAE law, the girl is legally classified as a minor, and in accordance with procedures recognised internationally, her mother - being the legal guardian - filed the complaint."
Marcus is now facing the possibility of up to 20 years in prison - and according to campaigners, cops could have got his potential sentence inflated further due to crucial mistakes.
Pressure group 'Detained in Dubai' announced that the 18-year-old construction apprentice suspects two major errors on prosecution case notes were made on purpose.
Both Marcus' age and nationality were wrongly recorded on these documents, as they incorrectly stated he was a year older and was of Pakistani nationality rather than British.
Due to his age being inflated, the case could have been elevated to a higher court in Dubai which has the power to impose an even harsher sentence on the teenager.
In UK terms, it would be like a case being heard in Crown Court rather than Magistrates.
According to Detained in Dubai, the fact Marcus' nationality was listed as Pakistani could also see him face a severer punishment.
Both of these blunders have now been corrected on the prosecution case notes, but campaigners reckon local police might have slipped up on purpose, the Daily Mail reports.
The founder of UK-based Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, has been assisting Marcus' family throughout the complex case and detailed why they believes the faux pas wasn't unintentional.
"Marcus told them his age, yet they noted it as 19 years of age," she said.
"Rather than a small gap between the two, it looks far worse being a two year gap.
"That has now been corrected and the court will see that.
"The UAE is racist and it was deliberate that his nationality was put down as Pakistani as to the court this would appear to be much worse than British."
Marcus family have been appealing to the UK government for help and are now being aided by the Foreign Office, a spokesperson said.
A trial for the teen is set to begin on 9 December, with Dubai's public prosecution office saying the date was 'at the request of the defendant's legal counsel'.
The office insisted that they were 'committed to protecting the rights of all individuals and ensuring impartial judicial proceedings'.
Stirling added: "I am hoping that when he comes to trial he will be fined and then deported, but his lawyer is not so confident."
A GoFundMe set up to help Marcus with his current expenses and to fund his legal defence has raised more than £30,000 in just a matter of days.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, World News, UK News, Crime, Travel
Olivia Burke