Briton, 18, facing 20 years in Dubai jail over ‘holiday romance’ with 17-year-old girl

An 18-year-old British lad faces years successful jailhouse aft having enactment with a 17-year-old Londoner helium met successful Dubai, campaigners say.

Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham, was connected a getaway with his household when a concealed ‘holiday romance blossomed’ with the girl, who is present 18.

He told the Detained successful Dubai human rights group: ‘We truly liked each different but she was secretive with her household due to the fact that they were strict.

‘My parents knew astir our narration but she couldn’t archer hers. She had to conscionable maine without telling them it was to spot a boy.’

But the miss flew backmost location successful August, constabulary showed up astatine Marcus’ family’s edifice and took the teen into custody.

‘I couldn’t ideate what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified,’ Marcus said.

Marcus was held for 3 days astatine Al Barsha Police Station and wasn’t allowed to telephone oregon talk to his parents, according to Detained successful Dubai.

He remains, however, successful Dubai arsenic helium cannot permission the country. His parents, a cleaner and a warehouse worker, person paid £2,000 successful Airbnbs for their son.

‘I’m present each alone. I commune this nightmare volition beryllium implicit and I’ll beryllium location for Christmas,’ Marcus said.

Detained In Dubai, which campaigns to assistance radical it says person suffered injustice successful the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says Marcus was charged due to the fact that the girl’s parent discovered their chats and pictures connected her telephone erstwhile she returned.

The parent reported the narration to constabulary successful the Emirates, wherever it is against the instrumentality for radical nether the property of 18 to person enactment extracurricular of marriage.

CEO of Detained successful Dubai Radha Stirling said: ‘This is intelligibly a precise strict parent to impact constabulary successful a backstage substance that is wholly ineligible successful the state wherever she lives and wherever the children person grown up.

‘Perhaps she wasn’t alert that she triggered the anticipation of a young antheral of lone 18 spending the adjacent 20 years successful prison.’

The UAE’s laws are based connected Islamic law, or Shariah. While the gulf Arab state has relaxed laws successful caller years to pull tourists and concern and easiness its blimpish reputation, Stirling says its ineligible codification is inactive ‘strict’.

She added: ‘Parents volition beryllium frightened to instrumentality their older teenagers connected abrogation with them wherever they could extremity up losing their lives implicit behaviour that’s wholly ineligible successful their ain countries.’

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: ‘We are supporting a British antheral successful the UAE and are successful interaction with his family.’

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