How a teenager’s holiday romance became prison time in Dubai

CNN — Holiday romances are the stuff of rom-coms and chick-lit — but not for 18-year-old Marcus Fakana, who is facing a one-year prison sentence for his summer fling. The teenager says he’s sorry and regretful for breaking law — but is appealing to the conservative monarchy’s Prime Minister and Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, to repeal the one-year jail sentence handed down to him last week, “to let me go home for Christmas with my family.” A ‘modern’ tourist destination Dubai is popular with Western European travelers, who flock to the beach-side city for its warm climate and luxury lifestyle. “It’s a simple case.” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is also the member of parliament for Fakana’s constituency, Tottenham, echoed these sentiments: “It is the case wherever you are in the world – and that’s why the Foreign Office makes clear on its website what the rules are – that you follow the rules and the law according to that country.” A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he “recognizes it’s an extremely distressing situation for Marcus and his family,” and that the Foreign Office “is in regular contact with his family and his legal team at this difficult time.” Tori Towey speaking to media after arriving home to Dublin Airport with her aunt, Ann Flynn and her mother Caroline on July 11, 2024. “Lawyers won’t even look at your case without 20,000 dirhams up front.” Towey finally got legal advice from Detained in Dubai, and with mounting pressure from the Irish government and the media spotlight on her story, her two-month travel ban was finally lifted, the charges were dropped, and she was able to return home. “I’ve been without a family for a long time, suffering anxiety, headaches, and sleepless nights.” Stirling believes Fakana’s case should have been tried at the court of misdemeanors, alleging that the police incorrectly stated his age as 19 and his nationality as Pakistani in their report, which she says likely led to a harsher judgment.