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British teenager jailed in Dubai over holiday romance
The Independent
|December 12, 2024
A British teenager has been jailed in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl while the pair were on holiday.
Marcus Fakana, an 18-year-old from Tottenham in north London, was on a trip with his parents when he struck up a holiday romance with the girl, who was staying at the same hotel. Upon finding out about the relationship, the unnamed girl’s mother reported Mr Fakana to Dubai police and he was arrested.
Yesterday, he was sentenced to one year in a Dubai prison his lawyers claim is “notorious for human rights abuses and torture”. His family have issued a plea directly to Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum to spare Mr Fakana a prison term over the sexual encounter, which would be legal in the UK.
His representative Radha Stirling, from Detained in Dubai, branded the sentence an “utter disgrace” and said Mr Fakana would appeal. In a statement, 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. 
This story is from the December 12, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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