British teen, 18, surrenders to serve a year in UAE prison after having sex with 17-year-old girl during ‘holiday romance’
British teenager Marcus Fakana has handed himself over to authorities in the UAE and started his one-year sentence in the infamous Al Awir prison after having sex with a 17-year-old girl in Dubai.
Marcus, a construction apprentice, was arrested in August after the mother of the girl he had a secret romance with complained about Fakana to Dubai authorities on her return to Britain.
She had checked her daughter’s phone and discovered that they had slept together. Since her return from Dubai, the girl has turned 18.
Earlier this month, Marcus was sentenced to a year in prison in the maximum security prison.
Today, instead of appealing and delaying the ordeal for no gain or even a longer sentence, Marcus made the difficult decision to turn himself in and begin his sentence.
Fakana has not been allowed to leave Dubai since his arrest in August. He will serve his one-year sentence at al Awir prison, also known as Dubai Central prison for men.
The prison houses death row inmates and some of Dubai’s worst criminals, including terrorists, murderers and rapists.
Marcus Fakana had a week-long holiday romance with the girl, also British, but was arrested and detained after her mother filed a complaint with Dubai police. He is now in prison
The photo shows the high-security Al-Awir Central Prison, where Fakana will serve his sentence. The prison houses some of Dubai’s worst offenders, including murderers, terrorists and rapists
Although the relationship would have been legal in Britain, a 17-year-old is defined as a child under Dubai law. The girl, from London, has now turned 18
In a message posted before entering prison, the student wrote: “Thank you to everyone who supported me during my struggle.
“It’s been a long fight, but nothing is difficult with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ leading me. I am grateful for all the people who helped by donating to me and my faith family for their support.”
The 18-year-old from Tottenham was in the UAE with his family when he met and had sex with the teenage girl, also from London.
Detained In Dubai, which represents Fakana, said the teenager feels “let down by the British government” following the verdict, which she branded “a total disgrace” and “an embarrassment to Britain”.
Radha Stirling, founder of the pressure group, said: ‘The police had the discretion to charge him with an offense of ‘offensive behaviour’ or similar, but chose to charge him with the offense of sex with an underage girl. year-old who had sex with a 14-year-old would have been charged.
“Although Marcus received the lowest sentence under the law, it is clear that this could have been handled more fairly and that prosecutors could have exercised more discretion.”
‘He never thought he would go to prison for a holiday romance with a girl who was a few months younger, but now the same age.
‘It’s just shocking. His life is ruined. Here we have two British tourists who were on holiday in a consensual relationship and now one is going to jail.
‘Dubai likes to market itself as a glamorous party destination, an influencer destination, yet they jail a British tourist for something that wouldn’t be a crime in his own country and is ruining his life.’
Ms Sterling added: ‘I would have expected the British Government, as other governments have done, to act and save one of their citizens from an unjust conviction.
“Marcus pleaded guilty, but police and prosecutors had a disturbing litany of details in his file, eventually making it more than a crime and dealt with by a higher court.
‘They said he was over 19 and from Pakistan. He was a British citizen. Many mistakes were deliberately made to torment him.”
Sterling said he now hoped the Dubai government could become involved, as he has done in the past with visitors who have broken their laws.
The family of Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham, London, has been left devastated by his jail sentence, sources claim
A doctor shows a corridor in the medical center of Al-Awir prison during the Covid pandemic
Karl Williams claims he saw men mauled by knife-wielding prisoners, while others were forcibly infected with HIV during his time in Dubai’s hellish prison. Here he is depicted in his cell during the horror ordeal
Former inmate Karl Williams has written about his experiences in prison in a new autobiography called Killing Time. Here is a photo of one of the meals he was served
The prison is located in the Dubai desert, miles from the UAE’s famous beaches
Under strict UAE law, only tourists over the age of 18 are legally allowed to sleep together. In Britain he would not be considered to have committed any crime.
Ms Stirling slammed the “unreasonable” sentence and slammed Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy for not doing enough to help the teenager.
“Marcus feels let down by the British government and Keir Starmer, who just spent a weekend in the UAE,” she wrote in a blistering tweet on X.
‘While the likes of JD Vance and the Irish government have been able to resolve cases of injustice and bring their citizens home, Britain has put trade deals ahead of people’s lives. This is truly disgusting.
‘David Lammy and Keir Starmer have let Marcus down. This is a shame for Britain. The Labor government should be ashamed that it has failed to secure the freedom of a teenage tourist. It wasn’t a difficult job.’
Mrs Stirling said that about Fakana parents ‘don’t know what to do’ and had to return to London without their son to resume work as a cleaner and in a warehouse.
“He was desperately hoping to get home this week but due to the poor handling of the prosecution in the early stages of the case it was not treated as a crime when it should have been,” she added.
According to his own account, apprentice builder Marcus arrived in Dubai on holiday with his family on August 26.
Marcus is pictured with his family fighting to free the teen
According to his own story, apprentice builder Marcus arrived in Dubai on holiday with his family on August 26 (photo: Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah)
Marcus told police after his arrest that the girl approached him and asked him to have sex with her.
The complainant’s document said: ‘We have received a complaint through the Dubai Police application regarding the rape of a 17-year-old British woman by an unknown person at the Hilton Palm Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai.
“When the complainant was asked about the details over the phone, she stated that an unknown person had recognized her daughter (the victim) at the hotel on August 27 and forcibly raped her while she was in the country.”
Since the court’s ruling earlier this month, Marcus has been allowed to remain on bail while he decides whether to appeal, but has been denied permission to leave the country.
A Foreign Office spokesperson previously said: ‘We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with his family.
‘The British Embassy in Dubai was not involved in reporting any criminal offense to the UAE authorities.
“They have informed the UAE authorities of the error in their records and all other interested parties are also aware.”