British teen Marcus Fakana faces up to 20 years in Dubai for underage sex with a 17-year-old girl. Local police allegedly manipulated his age and nationality to ensure a harsher sentence.
The British teenager facing 20 years in prison in Dubai over a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl has been deliberately victimised by local police who recorded his age a year older than it really is - and said his nationality is Pakistani so that he is treated more harshly, it has been dramatically claimed.
Instead of 18, Marcus had been listed as a year older which would mean he could be referred to a higher court in Dubai which is empowered to levy a heavier sentence - akin to being sent to a Crown Court rather than Magistrates in the UK. Campaigners say British teenager Marcus Fakana, 18, who is facing 20 years in prison in Dubai over a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl has been deliberately victimised by local policeShe went on: 'The UAE is racist and it was deliberate that his nationality was put down as Pakistani as to the court this would appear to be much worse than British.'
Ms Stirling said: 'I am hoping that when he comes to trial he will be fined and then deported, but his lawyer is not so confident.' The police investigation revealed that the sex between the pair was consensual after they examined all the messages the pair had exchanged during their time together.It was on the teen's initial arrest that his age was put down on the charge sheet as 19 years of age meaning the gap with the girl was two years and not a few months.He left school this summer and is on an apprenticeship scheme for work in the construction industry.
'This ordeal has caused us terrible emotional and financial strain and every day is an emotional battle.' 'They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn't tell me why. I couldn't imagine what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified.' 'Perhaps she wasn't aware that she triggered the possibility of a young man of only 18 spending the next 20 years in prison.''Dubai police have the power to drop the case against Marcus and let him come home,' Ms Stirling said.
Marcus Fakana Dubai Underage Sex British Teenager Human Rights Violation
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