A British teenager who was jailed in Dubai for having consensual sex with a minor has died in a car crash just three months after his release. Marcus Fakana, 19, from Tottenham, north London, was killed in a collision on Friday morning, according to his family and the legal firm Detained in Dubai, which represented him during his imprisonment.
Marcus had been on holiday with his family in Dubai last year when he began a relationship with a 17-year-old British girl also staying at the Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah. After the girl's mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, Marcus was arrested at his hotel and held for three days at Al Barsha Police Station, where he was unable to contact his parents.
Despite expectations of a suspended sentence, Marcus was sentenced to one year in al-Awir prison, described as having squalid and dangerous conditions. He spent six months behind bars before being granted a royal pardon by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on July 3 and returning to London.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said: 'He'd shown strength and courage, and he was excited and optimistic about his future. It is devastating that Marcus's journey has been cut short so soon after he began to rebuild his life.' A family member wrote on social media: 'I fought for you to be released from prison in Dubai, I did my best and this is how it ended?'
