A British teenager convicted of having sex with a 17-year-old girl in Dubai could face a prison term of up to 20 years, a leading human rights lawyer warned this week.
Marcus Fakana, 18, could be taken to court as early as tomorrow to be rubber-stamped with a heavier sentence.
An apprentice architect and his family say they are “appalled” that prosecutors may seek to increase the one-year prison sentence he was sentenced to last week for consensual sex with a girl who turned 18. It is said. This summer, my family will be vacationing in the UAE.
Mr. Fakana is not yet incarcerated at the notorious Al Aweel central prison, which houses death row inmates, murderers, terrorists and violent gangs, and prosecutors are considering whether to request further punishment for him. .
He launched a new petition asking for pardon and deportation from the country rather than imprisonment, saying he faces “dark and uncertain times”.
“The maximum sentence for a case like this is 20 years,” lawyer David Hay, who is advising Fakana’s family, told the Mail on Sunday in an exclusive interview.
“It’s always been seen that it’s the prosecutors who actually decide the sentence, but this sentence was a light one for them. The worrying thing is that they don’t want to let this go, so it looks weak.” Maybe they want to show everyone watching that they are fully abiding by the law. Marcus has little involvement in the prosecution’s appeals.
“He will not be allowed to speak or talk to the judges and everything will be done in Arabic anyway. There will be no interpreters. He will probably be pushed into the court for a minute and then immediately pushed out again. Dew.”
Marcus Fakana (pictured), an 18-year-old found guilty of having sex with a 17-year-old girl in Dubai, could have his prison sentence increased to up to 20 years this week.
Marcus (pictured) could be taken to court and rubber-stamped as early as tomorrow.
A British teenager was found guilty of having a consensual holiday romance with a then 17-year-old British girl earlier this summer.
He added: “The days ahead will be difficult.”
Mr Haig said his main hope was that Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, would respond to Mr Fakana’s plea for clemency.
“The horrors of prison are clear. It’s going to be terrible – especially because he’s so young and there’s a lot of racism in prison,” Haig said.
“The family is very worried. They are hoping for a miracle.”
Fakana may also file his own appeal to have his sentence reduced or revoked. Radha Sterling, head of the Dubai pressure group Detention, said Fakana “clearly did not intend to break the law”.
She added: [his family] I will wait and see if the prosecution will apply for a harsher sentence. Frankly, my family is freaking out when I think about that very real possibility. ”
Fakana, who lives in Tottenham, north London, began a secret holiday romance in August with the girl, who was just weeks away from her 18th birthday at the time. Sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18 is illegal in Dubai.
The girl’s mother reportedly found the contraceptives, photos and chats on her return to the UK and informed Dubai police, who arrested Fakana at the hotel.
Haig, who led the movement to free Dubai’s Princess Latifa after she posted a video in 2021 claiming to be being held hostage by her family, said Fakana’s imprisonment was damaging to everyone involved.
“It doesn’t look good for Dubai, it doesn’t look good for Marcus and it definitely doesn’t look good for her,” he said.
