Brit teen Marcus Fakana jailed in Dubai over sex with girl dies in crash after release

A teenager who was jailed in Dubai for having sex with a girl has died in a car crash three months after his release.

Detained in Dubai, a UK-based legal assistance firm who were representing him during his time in prison, confirmed that Marcus Fakana, 19, died yesterday following a collision in Tottenham, north London.

The teenager had been sentenced to one year behind bars in the UAE last December after forming a consensual relationship with a British girl, who was aged 17 at the time, while he was 18. There is no age of consent in Dubai, but all sex outside marriage is illegal.

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After returning home and seeing pictures and chats between the pair, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Marcus at his hotel.

He spent several months in the notorious al-Awir prison before being granted a royal pardon by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on July 3, and returned to his family in London a short time later.

Family and friends had led an impassioned campaign for Dubai authorities and the British government to secure his release, with the support of legal advocates. The Foreign Office said it had supported Marcus prior to his release "on an Eid pardon".

Writing on social media on Saturday, his aunt said: "I fought for you to be release from prison in Dubai, I did my best and this is how it ended?"

One person commenting on her post said: "Too young to die. When I heard that sad news early on tonight. My heart just sung in pain, felt useless."

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."

She added: "His loss is a painful reminder of how precious life is and how unnecessary imprisonment robs people of time they can never regain. Every day of freedom matters."