A British teenager jailed in Dubai for having sex with a fellow UK tourist he met on holiday there has been released from a hellhole prison after seven months, it was revealed today.
Campaign group Detained in Dubai has said Marcus Fakana, 19, received a royal pardon from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Mr Fakana, from Tottenham, north London, returned to the UK last Thursday following his jail time in the United Arab Emirates.
Marcus was arrested and imprisoned last year over a consensual holiday relationship with another British tourist who was just a few months younger than himself - a fact he was not aware of at the time.
The girl was one month away from turning 18, but sex with anyone under the age of 18 is an offence in the Gulf state. They met when both their families were staying at a luxury hotel.
The girl's mother reported Marcus - who was aged 18 at the time - to the UAE authorities after seeing messages between the two when she had returned to the UK.
His case drew widespread attention and outrage, highlighting the UAE’s harsh laws that criminalise personal relationships and critics say disproportionately target foreign nationals.
Radha Stirling, CEO of campaign group Detained in Dubai, told MailOnline that his freedom from Al Awir Prison had come a few weeks after an application for a Royal pardon.
‘Marcus should never have been put through this,’ she said. ‘He was supposed to spend a short few days with his family but ended up spending nearly a year in the tourist destination.
‘We are thrilled that after an intensive campaign, he was officially pardoned and is home safe, surrounded by those who love him.’
His release follows sustained pressure from Detained in Dubai’s legal and advocacy teams, as well as public support, behind-the-scenes diplomatic discussions and a royal pardon application.
The family confirmed his arrival and expressed immense gratitude for the support received throughout the campaign.
She added: ‘This was an extraordinary young man caught in a deeply unjust system. We thank everyone who stood by Marcus and helped bring him home.’
‘Marcus is back where he belongs, but no one should have to endure this.
‘We hope his story will prompt serious reconsideration of the UK’s travel advice and its engagement with the UAE on human rights issues. Dubai could have chosen to fine and to deport him.
‘Instead, the 18 year old was sentenced to one year in prison. The impact on his life has been severe and there was no need for him to endure such trauma’.
Detained in Dubai has long criticised the UAE for having double standards, saying ’foreign visitors are treated as hardened criminals for the pettiest of conduct, while Emiratis and Gulf nationals involved in serious sex related crime and prostitution are given a free pass.’
Detained in Dubai has helped more than 25,000 foreigners facing legal issues abroad over the past 18 years and continues to call for urgent reform of laws that routinely entrap and criminalise innocent visitors to the UAE.
The organisation continues to support individuals facing legal jeopardy in the Gulf region and has assisted over 25,000 people in cases involving wrongful detention, travel risks, and legal abuse.
Last month, as Marcus appealed for a pardon, Stirling said: ’This has been the most traumatic and life-altering experience imaginable for Marcus.
‘He is barely an adult himself, and never intended to break any law. What happened was legal in the UK and consensual. But now he is facing permanent damage to his mental health and future prospects because of it.’
She said Marcus was only able to call his family sporadically for short periods, adding that the isolation had been mentally and emotionally devastating for both him and his loved ones.
His parents had been urgently appealing to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the British Embassy in Dubai for assistance in advocating for his release.
‘If Marcus could go back in time, he would,’ added Stirling.
‘He has shown remorse and fully respects the laws of the UAE. He only hopes the government will show compassion and allow him to return home to rebuild his life. He's very young and this is a heart-breaking way to begin adulthood.’
'We are thrilled that after an intensive campaign, he was officially pardoned and is home safe, surrounded by those who love him.
'This was an extraordinary young man caught in a deeply unjust system. We thank everyone who stood by Marcus and helped bring him home.'
She added: 'Marcus is back where he belongs but no one should have to endure this. He was 18 at the time and the British woman involved is now 18 too, a fact she did not divulge to him at the time.
'We hope his story will prompt serious reconsideration of the UK's travel advice and its engagement with the UAE on human rights issues. Dubai could have chosen to fine and to deport him. Instead, the 18 year old was sentenced to one year in prison.
'The impact on his life has been severe and there was no need for him to endure such trauma'.
Detained in Dubai has long criticised the UAE for having double standards, saying ’foreign visitors are treated as hardened criminals for the pettiest of conduct, while Emiratis and Gulf nationals involved in serious sex related crime and prostitution are given a free pass.’
Detained in Dubai has helped more than 25,000 foreigners facing legal issues abroad over the past 18 years and continues to call for urgent reform of laws that routinely entrap and criminalise innocent visitors to the UAE.
The organisation continues to support individuals facing legal jeopardy in the Gulf region and has assisted over 25,000 people in cases involving wrongful detention, travel risks, and legal abuse.
Last month, as Marcus appealed for a pardon, Stirling said: ’This has been the most traumatic and life-altering experience imaginable for Marcus.
‘He is barely an adult himself, and never intended to break any law. What happened was legal in the UK and consensual. But now he is facing permanent damage to his mental health and future prospects because of it.’
She said Marcus was only able to call his family sporadically for short periods, adding that the isolation had been mentally and emotionally devastating for both him and his loved ones.
His parents had been urgently appealing to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the British Embassy in Dubai for assistance in advocating for his release.
‘If Marcus could go back in time, he would,’ added Stirling.
‘He has shown remorse and fully respects the laws of the UAE. He only hopes the government will show compassion and allow him to return home to rebuild his life. He's very young and this is a heart-breaking way to begin adulthood.’
Last December MailOnline revealed that the holiday romance between Marcus and the 17-year-old girl, just a few months short of her 18th birthday, began in the £210-a-night Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah, where their families were both staying.
After the girl and her family returned to the UK, her mother reported Marcus to the Dubai authorities after finding birth control pills in her daughter’s luggage, according to legal documents seen by the Mail.
Initially, Marcus was accused of rape, but was only cleared when police reviewed hotel CCTV footage which showed the girl going into his hotel bedroom at 4am.
It is not clear whether the accusation of rape originally came from the girl’s mother or was due to a misunderstanding or mistranslation by police officers, but the term ‘raped by force’ in Arabic appeared on the initial police report.
Although never charged with rape, the fact that the girl was 17 put her under Dubai's age of sexual consent and Marcus was convicted of having under-age sex.
His ordeal began in late August when the girl's mother – who MailOnline isn’t naming – discovered birth control pills in her daughter’s luggage when they returned home from a luxury break in the Gulf state.
Apprentice builder Marcus was arrested when officers swooped on his hotel at 7.30pm on August 31 while he was still on holiday.
He told officers he’d had consensual sex with the girl on three occasions.
His version of events was backed up when officers viewed the CCTV footage of the pair.
When he was sentenced last December, Marcus told how he was ‘shocked beyond belief’ by the year-long sentence handed out for having consensual sex with the girl, without her parents’ knowledge.
In records of the court hearing obtained by MailOnline the chief investigator told the court that the initial complaint from the girl’s mother was passed to the Dubai authorities by the British Embassy, but the Foreign Office later denied this.
The prosecutor told the court: 'We were informed that we received a complaint via the Dubai Police application, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that they received notification from the British Embassy regarding a complaint filed by [name redacted] stating that her daughter, 17 years old, was subjected to forced indecent assault by the aforementioned accused [delete while they were staying at the Hilton Palm Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai.'
A Foreign Office spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: 'The British Embassy Dubai was not involved in reporting any offence to the UAE authorities.
'They have informed the UAE authorities of the error in their records and all other interested parties are also aware.'
According to an official report of the court hearing in Dubai, which is closed to the public – and even Marcus as the defendant had to wait outside, he told investigators that sex ‘was with the victim’s consent and without violence or coercion from him, and that the victim was the one who came to him and asked to have sex with her.
‘And upon reviewing the surveillance camera recordings, it was found that she had indeed entered his hotel room.’
In December human rights lawyer David Haigh, who is advising the Fakana family, warned that Fakana could have his sentence increased to up to 20 years.
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Haigh said: 'The maximum sentence for a case like this is 20 years.
'It is always seen that the prosecutor really decides the sentence, but this was a low one for them. The worry is that they will not want to let this go and look weak. They may want to show they have fully upheld the law to everyone watching. Marcus will play almost no part in any prosecution appeal.
'He won't be allowed to talk or address the judge and everything will be in Arabic anyway. There won't be a translator. He'll probably be pushed into court for a minute and then pushed straight out again.'
He added: 'The days ahead are fraught with difficulty.'
Haigh had said at the time the main hope was that the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, would respond to Fakana's fresh plea to be pardoned by authorities and deported rather than locked up.
And he was proved correct.
