An 18-year-old sentenced to a year in a Dubai jail for having sex with a 17-year-old British girl while they were on holiday has been released and is back safely in the UK, a campaign group has said.
Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, received a royal pardon from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the group Detained in Dubai said.
Its chief executive, Radha Stirling, said Fakana “is currently recovering”, adding in a statement: “His case has attracted significant public attention due to concerns about the criminalisation of tourists and disproportionate sentencing.
“We believe this case highlights the urgent need for expedited legal processes for foreign nationals and safeguards against unnecessary custodial sentences.”
Fakana was with his parents in the United Arab Emirates from the end of August when a “holiday romance blossomed” with another Londoner, who turned 18 the following month, the campaign group previously said.
After returning to the UK and seeing pictures and chats, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who arrested Fakana at his hotel, it was alleged. In Dubai, if an adult has a sexual relationship with a person under 18, they can be prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with a minor.
Stirling said Fakana had handed himself in to authorities in December and intended to serve his year-long sentence in Dubai’s al-Awir prison. Speaking at the time, she said: “I worry about the impact of Dubai prison on an 18-year-old’s life. It wasn’t easy to find the words to say to him as he surrendered his freedom.”
When asked previously about the case in December, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, said Fakana would have “all the support available” from UK officials but that people should “follow the rules” of other countries.
Stirling said previously that the sentence was an “utter disgrace” and “an embarrassment to Britain”, and claimed “the UK has prioritised trade deals over people’s lives”.
Fakana said previously the pair had kept their “holiday romance” secret from the girl’s family “because they were strict”, and had hoped to continue seeing each other back in the UK. Detained in Dubai said he told them he and the girl “had a wonderful time together” and “really liked each other” – and said he felt frightened when police officers arrested him.
The group was also critical of the UK government’s response, saying: “The Labour government should be ashamed they have not secured the freedom of a teenage tourist. It wasn’t a difficult job.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was contacted for comment.
