Marcus Fakana: Teen jailed in Dubai over holiday romance freed by royal pardon

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An advocacy group has reported that a young British man who had consensual intercourse with another adolescent and spent months in a Dubai prison has been sent back to the UK.

Marcus, 19, of Tottenham, North London, was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates last year for a relationship he had formed with a fellow British national, also from London, while on vacation in the Middle East in August of last year.

In the United Arab Emirates, it is unlawful for under-18s to have sex. Marcus was imprisoned for months after local police, who had been notified of the relationship by the girl’s mother, detained him for it.

Following a judge’s instructions, he had been imprisoned at the infamous al-Awir jail for his birthday and New Year’s, and he had looked to a royal pardon as a possible way to get out before returning to the UK.

Marcus was described as a “extraordinary young man caught in a deeply unjust system” by Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, an advocacy group that was instrumental in securing his return home after a nearly year-long incarceration.

Celebrating his return, she said: “Marcus should never have been put through this. 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.

“This was an extraordinary young man caught in a deeply unjust system. We thank everyone who stood by Marcus and helped bring him home.”

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