A teenager has been apprehended by police in Dubai and faces a 20-year jail sentence after sleeping with a 17-year-old girl.
Marcus Fakana, 18, was on vacation with his family in the United Arab Emirates when he met an unnamed girl, who was 17 at the time, staying at the same hotel.
According to Sky News, romance sparked between the couple, who are from London, and they decided to have sex.
“We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict," he told the Detained in Dubai group, cited by The Guardian. “My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.”
They hoped to continue their relationship in London after the girl returned from her holiday. But Fakana said authorities turned up at his family’s hotel and he was taken into custody without any explanation.
“When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door. They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified," he said, per The Independent.
He was reportedly detained for three days and was unable to contact his parents.
Sex outside marriage is legal for tourists in Dubai, but only if both parties are over 18.
Detained in Dubai, a group that helps people who suffered injustice in the UAE, revealed that Fakana was reported to the police after the girl's mother discovered the couple's messages and pictures back in the UK.
Radha Stirling, the chief executive of Detained in Dubai shared that the girl "was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time".
“This is clearly a very strict mother to involve police in a private matter that is completely legal in the country where she lives and where the children have grown up. Perhaps she wasn’t aware that she triggered the possibility of a young man of only 18 spending the next 20 years in prison," Stirling said.
The chief executive said that since the teen's arrest, she has turned 18. “This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting," they added.
Fakana could face up to two decades in jail due to the country’s strict laws.
The young man is no longer being held in a cell but is unable to leave the country, with his family facing bills of $2K for his accommodation until his case is resolved.
“[My family] saved up for this one-off holiday and have now used all of their savings,” he said. “The police demanded 10,000 AED for bail which I’ve been told is not normal and the costs are mounting. I’m here all alone. I pray this nightmare will be over and I’ll be home for Christmas."
Campaigners have urged David Lammy to help with the case as he was appointed as foreign secretary in July.
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