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A British teenager is in prison Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl while the couple was on vacation.
Marcus Fakana, 18 years old from Tottenham North London, he was on a trip with his parents when he struck up a romance with a girl who was staying at the same hotel.
After learning about the relationship, the mother of the unnamed girl reported Mr Fakan to the Dubai police and he was arrested.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced to a year in a Dubai prison that lawyers say is “notorious for human rights abuses and torture.”
His family appealed directly to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, to spare Marcus for consensual sex with another British national – a relationship that would be fully legal in the UK.
His representative, Radha Stirling, from a detention center in Dubai, said Marcus would appeal the one-year sentence.
In a statement, she said: “He had desperately hoped to return home this week, but prosecutorial misconduct in the early stages of the case meant he was not heard as an offense when he should have been.
Calling for a nationwide boycott, she added: “I urge young people and parents to reconsider holidaying in Dubai where so many people are at risk of unfair and lengthy detention in prisons notorious for human rights abuses and torture.
“People should book elsewhere until Marcus is free. There is so much public support for Marcus. They want to see him home, and a year in prison is not only unreasonable, it’s a complete disgrace.”
Ms Stirling, a veteran expert in extradition cases involving the United Arab Emirates, said the British government had abandoned the teenager by singling out Sir Keir Starmer, who spent the weekend in the UAE.
She added: “The UK has prioritized trade deals over people’s lives. This is really disgusting. David Lammy and Keir Starmer failed Marcus.
“This is a shame for Britain. The Labor government should be ashamed of themselves for not securing the freedom of the teenage tourist. It wasn’t hard work.”
Mr Fakana claims he did not know the girl, who is also from London and has since turned 18, was months his junior when they first met.
According to UAE law, the girl is legally classified as a minor and her mother, as the legal guardian, filed the case.
A government spokesman said: “Dubai’s legal system is committed to protecting the rights of all individuals and ensuring a fair trial.”
Dubai only recently made sex outside marriage legal for tourists, but the country still has a strict Islamic legal system. In the UK, the couple’s relationship would be legal.
Mr Fakana, who is said to have been “overwhelmed” by fans in the UK, previously told Detained in Dubai: “We had a great time together. We liked each other very much, 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 she was going to see the boy.
“When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly the police knocked on our hotel door. They said they were taking me in for questioning, but they wouldn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine why. I was scared and my parents were scared.”
His family set up a GoFundMe to raise money for court costs Mr. Fakane, explaining that they had gone to the UAE to celebrate his father’s birthday.
Mr Fakana and his family called on Foreign Affairs Minister David Lammy, their MP for Tottenham, to intervene in the case.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is in contact with them.