A driver has admitted killing a London teenager in a car crash shortly after the 19-year-old had been freed from a Dubai jail term for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
Marwaan Mohamed Huseen, 20, was attempting to get away from pursuing Metropolitan Police officers when he crashed a BMW into a lorry, killing 19-year-old Marcus Fakana who was one of the vehicle's passengers. A second passenger was also badly hurt in the crash, which happened in the early hours of October 3 last year in Tottenham, north London.
At Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, Huseen appeared by videolink from HMP Pentonville to plead guilty to causing the death of Mr Fakana by dangerous driving. He also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving to another passenger, and admitted being uninsured and unlicensed at the time.
The crash happened just three months after Mr Fakana, from Tottenham, was set free from a prison in Dubai. He had been with his parents in the UAE in summer 2024 when, at age 18, he had a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl from London. The teenager spent around a year in prison before being freed thanks to a royal pardon from Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
At the time of the crash, police said officers attempted to stop a 'vehicle of interest' in Pretoria Road and after a short pursuit temporarily lost sight of it. When officers drove into The Roundway, they found the vehicle had been involved in a collision. Huseen, of Argyle Road, Tottenham, has been in custody since his arrest at the scene.
Judge Emma Deacon KC remanded him back into custody after the guilty pleas. He is due to submit a basis for his pleas, and a sentencing date will be set at a hearing on February 27. After Mr Fakana's death, Radha Sterling, chief executive of campaign group Detained in Dubai, said she was 'heartbroken' by the news, adding that Marcus spent most of 2024 in a Dubai prison which caused long-lasting mental anguish.
