Marcus Fakana, an 18-year-old British teenager, has been sentenced to a year in jail in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Fakana has broken his silence, pleading with the ruler of Dubai to commute his sentence and allow him to return home.
While on a family vacation in the UAE, Fakana met and had a romantic encounter with a teenage girl from London. However, under strict UAE law, only tourists aged over 18 are legally allowed to engage in intimate relationships. Fakana’s actions, although consensual, were considered a crime in Dubai.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Fakana expressed his devastation and apologized for breaking the law. “Today I was sentenced to one year in Dubai prison. My family and I are devastated and in shock. I never intended to break the law. It didn’t occur to me at the time and for that, I’m sorry,” he said.
Fakana is now begging Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum to “please forgive me and pardon me. Let me go home. Please give me my life back”.
His lawyer is filing an appeal against the sentence, but the legal process in Dubai is notoriously slow, and it could take months before his case is heard.
The teenager’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his legal fees and living expenses while he awaits the appeal. Over £30,000 has been raised so far, allowing Fakana to stay in a rented apartment.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, has come out in support of Fakana, stating that he “does not deserve to be locked up in Dubai Central Prison for a fling”. Stirling emphasized that Dubai authorities need to be more intelligent in their application of the law, considering that Fakana had consensual relations with someone his own age and from his own country while on a short holiday.
