Family of British teenager detained in Dubai for having s*x with fellow Brit during holiday cries for help

The family of the teenager being held in Dubai over a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl has cried for assistance from Dubai’s ruler to free their son.

Marcus Fakana met the girl in Dubai as her family was lodged in the same hotel where he and his own family were lodged.

They became close while the holiday lasted and the girl sneaked into Marcus’ room where they had a sexual relationship.

The girl’s family left the UAE for the UK ahead of the Fakanas and the girl’s mother learnt what transpired between her daughter and Marcus after they arrived back in their home in the UK.

Furious, the mother called the police in Dubai to file a complaint against Marcus, and he was promptly arrested. This ruined the grand celebration of Marcus’s father’s birthday, for which they went to the UAE on holiday.

Marcus now faces two decades inside a gruelling UAE prison. Under Dubai law, a 17-year-old is defined as a child. The girl has since turned 18.

The teenager is awaiting trial early next month.

His parents said, ‘We’ve sought assistance from Foreign Secretary David Lammy to ensure his right to uphold it, and we ask HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, to please let our boy come home.

‘This ordeal has caused us terrible emotional and financial strain and every day is an emotional battle.’

The boy’s family, who are from Tottenham, North London, said they were grateful for the continued support from the public, the media and friends and family who ‘have been incredible and gives us hope’.

More than £24,000 has been raised to help the legal fight to return Marcus to Britain, but the family warned that a fake go fund me page was also in existence.

Marcus was held in Dubai’s ‘notorious’ Al Barsha Police Station for days after the ‘strict’ mother of the girl he had sex with on holiday this summer reported him to authorities.

Setting up a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal fees to bring him home, Marcus’ family said: ‘What was meant to be a happy time has turned into a nightmare for him, our family, and our friends.

‘This has happened as a result of someone trying to misuse UAE law against him.

‘He is being charged with a crime that could lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years.

‘He is only 18 years old, very scared, and his mental health is starting to decline.’

Dubai has only recently reformed its laws on sex outside of marriage for tourists, but upholds a strict Islamic legal system, and has no firm ruling on the age of consent.

However, under local law, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age. The girl was just months away from turning 18 when the pair met in August.

The teenagers were planning to continue their relationship when they were back in London.

But it is understood the mother had found out about their relationship when she went through her daughter’s phone and found their chats and pictures, later sharing them with Dubai police from the safety of the UK.

The lawyer’s fees alone could cost them up to £21,000.

In a previous GoFundMe page set up two months ago, the family alleged Marcus had been denied a translator and forced to sign a confession document he did not understand.

They said: ‘He has been wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit, and is now caught in a legal battle in Dubai.

‘This is not just a misunderstanding, it is racial discrimination, with someone seeking to use the UAE law against him.

Marcus said: ‘We had a wonderful time together. We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict.

‘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.

‘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.’

The pair had tried to spend as much time as they could together while abroad, and hoped to get to know each other better when back in London.

The girl left Dubai first and they had arranged to meet up.

‘He [Marcus] was told his girlfriend’s mother had reported the relationship to authorities in Dubai after she had arrived back in London,’ said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai and human rights advocate.