An 18-year-old Briton who had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old British girl in Dubai while the pair were on holiday with their families has been sentenced to one year in prison, a campaign group has said.
Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, began the secretive holiday romance in September with another Londoner, who is now aged 18.
After returning home and seeing pictures and chats, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Fakana at his hotel. Sex with another person aged under 18 is illegal in Dubai.
Detained in Dubai says Fakana “feels abandoned by the British government” following the judgement which it called “an utter disgrace”.
The Dubai Public Prosecutor’s office and the UK Foreign Office have been approached for comment.
Radha Stirling, the founder and chief executive of Detained in Dubai, which helps foreigners abroad and is an international authority on UAE law, said Fakana would appeal his “unreasonable” sentence.
She said: “He was desperately hoping to come home this week but prosecutorial mishandling in the first stages of the case meant it wasn’t heard as a misdemeanour when it should have been.
“The family have issued a plea to Dubai ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, to spare Marcus for consensual sex with another British citizen.”
