18 year old Marcus Fakana turns himself in for 1 year prison sentence
18 year old Marcus Fakana was sentenced to one year in prison after being prosecuted over his holiday romance with a woman who was just one month away from being 18 at the time. Had the British teens travelled to the UAE in October instead of September, he could not have been charged.
The police had discretion to charge him with a misdemeanour like “offensive behaviour” or similar, but chose to charge him with the felony of sex with an underage girl, the same law a 40 year old engaging in sex with a 14 year old would have been charged with. Although Marcus received the lowest statutory sentence, it is clear that this could have been handled more reasonably and the prosecutors could have exercised more discretion.
Rather than appealing and dragging the ordeal out for potentially no gain or even a longer sentence, Marcus made the difficult decision to turn himself in to begin his sentence.
Message from Marcus Fakana
Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my Fight. It's been a long fight but nothing is hard with my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ Guiding me. I'm grateful for all the people who helped by donating to me and my family of faith for supporting me. There's a fake instagram which could potentially harm my position it is called @Marcusfakana with (150K followers) The official Marcus fakana page is @M_tside. Please go and follow as it will be the only platform where I will be speaking about my Story.
Have a lovely Christmas and Amazing New Years
GoodBye Marcus.F
His family are advocating for a royal pardon and commuted sentence and will be continuing to push the British government, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy, for assistance.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said “We hope the government of Dubai will see that it is counter-productive to imprison a young tourist for something that is perfectly legal in his country and that, at the base of it, is terribly damaging and unfair. The experience will change Marcus forever and is completely unnecessary over consensual sex with another British tourist.
“British tourists have been jailed for sex outside marriage in the past and rape victims for adultery. It was later recognised that this was unfair and laws and enforcement have significantly changed as a result. We hope Sheikh Mohamed Al Maktoum will recognise the severity of the sentence in this case with the special circumstances and show compassion towards Marcus and his family.”
Speaking to Ms Stirling, Marcus said he will focus on his health and mental health when in jail. “Marcus is hopeful that in beginning his ordeal today, he will be home sooner than he would be if he appealed. He is requesting UK government assistance in appealing for a pardon and hopes Dubai's ruler will commute his sentence. It is difficult to have the right words to tell a young man turning himself in for a year in Dubai prison. He's very brave and kind and I truly hope he will be home soon”.
Detained in Dubai warned visitors to contact them in the first instance. "Don't delay contacting us and do not assume an Embassy's recommend list of local lawyers is the best choice. If you are returning to the UAE, take precautions by instructing a UAE Police Check. This simple act prevents arrest on arrival and would have saved many of our clients from hardship. Craig Ballentine, Stuart Quiney and Laleh Shahravesh would never have made headlines had they checked their status in advance", warns Stirling.
