Marcus Fakana, the British teenager who was jailed in Dubai after engaging in a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, has been freed and is back in the UK, following a royal pardon granted by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Fakana, now 19, had been sentenced in December 2024 to one year in prison after authorities in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, were alerted to his relationship with the girl—also British—during a family holiday last summer.
The situation arose when the girl’s mother, upon discovering private messages between the pair after returning to the UK, reported him to UAE authorities. While the relationship was consensual, UAE law sets the age of consent at 18.
According to Detained in Dubai, a legal advocacy group that assisted Fakana throughout his ordeal, he was granted clemency under an Eid pardon, a customary act of compassion during the Muslim festival that allows rulers to offer certain prisoners a second chance.
“He’s overwhelmed,” said Radha Stirling, the group’s founder, who has maintained close contact with Fakana’s family.
“It’s always very difficult when someone’s suddenly released after six months. For a young man, a boy, really, as I would see him… It’s just unfathomable for most people how long it would take to recover from such a situation.”
Detailing the emotional journey faced by Fakana and his relatives, Stirling continued, “He was absolutely very nervous, of course, and his whole family too. But I mean, once you’ve been told ‘buy that plane ticket’, there’s obviously a sense of relief at that point. His family is just over the moon to have him back early.”
Fakana, who is from Tottenham in north London, had travelled to Dubai with his parents in late August 2024 when, according to Detained in Dubai, a “holiday romance blossomed” with another London-based teenager, who has since turned 18. The two were reportedly in the same school year, which led Fakana to believe she was of legal age.
Stirling criticised the prosecution under these circumstances, saying: “I think the law saying that an 18-year-old can’t engage in relations with someone who’s just a few weeks younger than him is quite strict and perhaps shouldn’t be applied to tourists.”
“Furthermore,” she added, “Marcus didn’t know that she was under 18; they were in the same school year and it seemed fair and reasonable that he assumed her to be 18 as well.
“So I think again under those circumstances he shouldn’t have been prosecuted.”
Issuing a broader caution to families travelling to the UAE, Stirling warned: “Parents need to be aware that teens can be charged in the UAE for behaviour that would not be considered criminal at home, whether that’s a relationship, social media activity, or even drinking alcohol.”
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which had provided support to Fakana throughout his detention, confirmed that he was released last week as part of the Eid pardon. The FCDO also noted that he opted to return quietly to his family without attracting media attention.
