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Marcus Fakana has been left shocked by the sentence for a holiday romance with a fellow Londoner
The British teenager sentenced to a year in jail in Dubai over a holiday romance has appealed to be allowed to go home, pleading: “Every day here is difficult”.
Marcus Fakana, 18, sent the emotional message to the ruler of Dubai, pleading with him to commute his 12-month sentence. Speaking from Dubai, where he has been given bail after lodging an appeal, Marcus told the Mirror: “Every day here is difficult, especially with prison hanging over my head. I’ve asked my lawyer to lodge an appeal and hope we can get an expedited hearing date.”
He added: “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.
“I am asking His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum to please forgive me and pardon me. Please give me my life back. Let me go home.”
Marcus was left shocked after being handed the sentence for having sex with a girl aged 17 during a family holiday earlier this year. He had expected a suspended sentence for the consensual act and to be allowed to fly home after being stranded in the Gulf city since his arrest in August.
But a judge sparked fury by ordering him to be locked up for a year in the notorious al-Awir central prison.
Having sex with a person under 18 is illegal in the United Arab Emirates. But campaigners believe Marcus, a construction apprentice, has been harshly treated for having a fling with the girl, who is British-Indian.
Marcus, of Tottenham, North London, met the girl, another Londoner, while both their families were on holiday in Dubai and struck up a relationship. She kept the affair from her family, but her mum found out about it after seeing pictures and messages on her phone. She reported Marcus to police in Dubai.
Marcus’ lawyer has filed paperwork to expedite an appeal, but the legal process in Dubai is notoriously slow, and it is understood it could take months before his case is heard. He is being supported by Detained in Dubai.
The group’s Radha Stirling accused the UK government of doing nothing to help him, despite Keir Starmer’s recent visit to the UAE. She has said Marcus feels “abandoned” by the PM and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is his local MP.
And she claimed the Dubai authorities wrongly noted his age as 19 on purpose to make the age gap bigger and get a longer sentence and wrote his nationality as Pakistani. Marcus previously told how he planned to see the girl again in the UK.
He said: “We had a wonderful time together. When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again. Then, suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door.”
Marcus has been staying in a rented flat while waiting for his sentence hearing. His family have raised more than £39,000 in a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his accommodation and legal fees.
They said he is only in jail as a result of “someone trying to misuse UAE law against him”.
Commenting on the case, Mr Starmer’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister recognises it’s an extremely distressing situation for Marcus and his family. The Foreign Office is in regular contact with his family and his legal team at this difficult time.
“I believe that they’re in discussion with his lawyers. And I believe he and his family are considering options and next steps.”
