Marcus Fakana, the British teenager who was sentenced to one year in a Dubai jail for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old-girl, has been released.
In Dubai, the age of consent is 18.
The teenager, now 19, was then on holiday with his family in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when he met the girl, 18, at the same hotel.
The teenagers who are both from London were said to have made plans to continue their romance when they returned to the United Kingdom.
Detained in Dubai, a group of UAE legal experts, said the young man was charged because the girl’s mother found their chats and pictures back in the UK.
The woman subsequently contacted police in Dubai and Fakana was arrested. In December 2024, he was sentenced to one year in a Dubai jail.
However, Detained in Dubai, a campaign group, disclosed that the teenager received a royal pardon from Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the state’s ruler.
Radha Stirling, a member of the campaign group, said the teenager was overwhelmed by his sudden release after six months, adding that his family was overjoyed to have him home earlier than expected.
He’s overwhelmed. It’s always very difficult when someone’s suddenly released after six months. For a young man; a boy, really, as I would see him… It’s just unfathomable for most people how long it would take to recover from such a situation, she said.
He was absolutely very nervous, of course, and his whole family too. But I mean, once you’ve been told buy that plane ticket, there’s obviously a sense of relief at that point. His family is just over the moon to have him back early.
Stirling also argued that the young man should not have been prosecuted, adding that he reasonably believed the girl was 18, given they were in the same school year.
She also criticised the UAE’s strict laws, particularly for tourists.
I think the law saying that an 18-year-old can’t engage in relations with someone who’s just a few weeks younger than him is quite strict and perhaps shouldn’t be applied to tourists, she said.
Furthermore, Marcus didn’t know that she was under 18; they were in the same school year and it seems fair and reasonable that he assumed her to be 18 as well. So I think again under those circumstances he shouldn’t have been prosecuted.
