The family of the teenager detained in Dubai for a holiday affair with a 17-year-old girl declared tonight that trying to free the teenager was a huge “emotional battle”.
Marcus Fakana was arrested for having a sexual relationship with the unnamed girl while they were on holiday in the United Arab Emirates.
He is being held there awaiting trial early next month.
In a new statement, his family said: “We are praying for the day we can return to Marcus.”
His parents said: ‘We have asked Foreign Secretary David Lammy for help to ensure his right to freedom is respected and we ask His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, to please let our son return. 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 give us hope”.
More than £24,000 was raised to help the legal fight to return Marcus to Britain, but the family warned there was also a fake page to fund me.
The family of London Tottenham’s Marcus Fakana say his mental health is “deteriorating” while he is trapped in Dubai facing the possibility of up to 20 years in jail.
Marcus pictured with his family, who hope to raise £20,000 to help cover his legal fees.
Marcus was held at the “famous” Al Barsha police station in Dubai for days after the “strict” mother of the girl he had sex with during this summer’s holiday reported him to the authorities.
The couple, who met while staying at the same hotel with their families, “had a great time together,” and the girl, also British, met secretly because she feared she wouldn’t be able to tell her mother that she was dating a boy. . .
But in a devastating turn of events, Marcus, who had been on a family holiday celebrating his father’s birthday, could face two decades inside a grueling prison in the United Arab Emirates after the girl’s furious mother found out. of the affair and inform the police in Dubai upon returning to the UK.
While the relationship would have been legal in the UK, under Dubai law a 17-year-old is considered a child. The girl has already turned 18 years old.
Setting up a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal fees to bring him home, Marcus’ family said: “What was going to be a happy time has turned into a nightmare for him, our family and our friends.”
‘This happened as a result of someone trying to misuse UAE law against them.
“He is accused of a crime that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
“He is only 18 years old, he is very scared and his mental health is starting to deteriorate.”
Dubai has recently reformed its laws on sex outside of marriage for tourists, but maintains a strict Islamic legal system and has no firm rule on the age of consent.
But under local law, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age. The girl was just a few months shy of her 18th birthday when the couple met in August.
The teenagers planned to continue their relationship when they returned to London.
But it is understood the mother found out about their relationship when she searched her daughter’s phone and found her chats and photographs, then shared them with Dubai police from the safety of the UK.
The 18-year-old was detained at a famous Dubai police station after the mother of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a holiday affair reported him to the authorities.
Marcus was still on vacation with his family when the police suddenly showed up at the hotel and detained him for three days at the Al Barsha police station.
He is still in Dubai as he fights the case, and the family hopes to raise £20,000 to help cover legal fees, accommodation and travel costs to return to the UK.
Solicitor fees alone could cost them up to £21,000.
On a previous GoFundMe page created two months ago, the family alleged that Marcus had been denied a translator and forced to sign a confession document that he did not understand.
They said: ‘He has been wrongly 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 as someone tries to use UAE law against you.
‘While detained he was denied access to a translator and forced to sign a confession document that he did not understand. He is only 18 years old, he is terrified and very scared.
“His mental health is deteriorating rapidly.”
Speaking to British aid organization Detained in Dubai, Marcus told how the couple had planned to see each other when they returned home.
Marcus said: ‘We had a wonderful time together. We liked each other a lot, but she was reserved with her family because they were strict.
‘My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell them about hers. He 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 the police knocked on the door of our hotel.
“They said they were going to take me in for questioning but they didn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine why. “I was scared and my parents were terrified.”
The couple had tried to spend as much time together as possible while abroad and hoped to get to know each other better when they returned to London.
The girl left Dubai first and they had agreed to meet.
“He (Marcus) was told that his girlfriend’s mother had reported the relationship to Dubai authorities after his return to London,” said Radha Stirling, chief executive of Arrested in Dubai and defender of human rights.
While the relationship would have been legal in the UK, under Dubai law a 17-year-old is considered a child. The girl has already turned 18 years old.
The organization offers confidential legal help to people facing civil and criminal legal problems in the United Arab Emirates.
“She is clearly a very strict mother to involve the police in a private matter that is completely legal in the country where she lives and where her children grew up,” Mrs Stirling warned.
“Perhaps he was not aware that he triggered the possibility of a young man who was only 18 years old spending the next 20 years in prison.”
‘My mother is a cleaner and my father works in a warehouse. “They saved up for this once-in-a-lifetime vacation and now they’ve used up all their savings,” Marcus explained.
‘The police demanded AED 10,000 as bail, which I am told is not normal and the costs are increasing. I’m here all alone. I pray this nightmare ends and I will be home for Christmas.
Marcus and his family are now asking the British Foreign Secretary for help.
“Dubai Police have the power to drop the case against Marcus and let him return home,” Ms Stirling said.
“This is not something we want to do to young people and we ask MP David Lammy to pass this message on to his counterparts in the UAE.”
The United Arab Emirates has recently implemented changes allowing tourists to have sex outside of marriage, as well as looser regulations on alcohol and vaping.
A British couple was imprisoned for kissing in public in 2010 and eventually deported for violating the country’s decency laws.
Despite the changes to the law, Ms Stirling warns that parents will soon “be afraid to take their older teenage children on holiday with them, where they could end up losing their lives for behavior that is completely legal in their own countries.” “.
The Dubai Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement shared with MailOnline: “The case was initiated in response to a complaint made by the mother of a 17-year-old British girl.
‘The girl, a tourist visiting Dubai, does not reside in the United Arab Emirates. Under UAE law, the girl is legally classified as a minor, and in accordance with internationally recognized procedures, her mother – as legal guardian – filed the complaint.
‘Dubai’s legal system is committed to protecting the rights of all people and ensuring fair judicial procedures. The next court hearing has been scheduled for December 9 at the request of the accused’s lawyer, contrary to what was reported by some media.
“The media should avoid speculation and allow the judiciary to fulfill its responsibilities within its clear legal framework.”