Marcus Fakana gets prison sentence in Dubai.

My eldest lives in Dubai and has done for years. I travel out there every year to see her and take my younger girls with me.

Dubai is A LOT safer than the U.K. and I’ve never ever felt vulnerable out there - unlike here and Europe. I’d consider moving out there if this country doesn’t change.

He broke the law and that’s why he is in jail. The girls mother is unbelievably spiteful

Are laws relaxed about alcohol? I remember there was a case when a tourist was arrested in Dubai after ordering alcohol on an Emirates flight. You can't hold hands in public, it is very very strict and most Westerners don't have a clue about this.

Does that mean that if she ever went back to Dubai she could be prosecuted? Did her vindictive mother mess her up as well?

Another reason not to visit Dubai, hopefully with media pressure he'll be pardoned and released back to the UK.

Dubai would seem a very bad place to take a teenager on holiday.
Teenagers will always be teenagers and push boundaries/ the limits of the law without really thinking through the potential consequences. Whilst you can get away with that in the UK and most of Europe, you really can't in Dubai or most of the Gulf.

With younger children it seems like an ideal holiday destination, but I would be very stressed to take an older teen there.

I suspect she had an idea he would be in deep trouble, and probably imprisoned and I think she did it on purpose. I would like to know who the mum is (but understand the girl needs privacy). I wonder if there are other underlying reasons why she reported him as in she felt he was beneath them or less than them. Such a spiteful thing to do. I hope he gets out early. However, we cant argue as some have done that it is not a crime in the UK so he should be jailed. It is a crime in that country. I am an immigrant here. I cant jump the red light then say its never taken seriously in my country. So sadly he did break their laws. The government didn't lift a finger to help him (lawyer says the police added so many things that changed it from a misdemeanor to something more serious). Sad really

@LoveIsLikeAFartIfYouHaveToPushItsUsuallyShit I think we do have Romeo and Juliet laws, so as long as similar in age, consensual and no position of power then underage sex may not result in prosecution

The sheer spiteful vindictiveness of the girls
mother has disgusted me. It was consensual! It takes two to tango.

What a hideous woman she must be.

It is not an offence for her too. What is her offence here?

He broke the law.

should foreign tourists who break the law when visiting the UK get away with it?

I feel very sorry for him. What 18 year old going on holiday with their parents thoroughly researches the laws of the country they are visiting? None!

Especially agree with PP that a lot of laws in Dubai are relaxed for tourists, e.g. alcohol, so it's really not as clear cut as some people are making out.

The girl's mother is just awful and I hope the girl manages to get away from her influence and control ASAP. Also hope our diplomats can sort out an early release for him. How terrified must he be, and with his parents not even there to support him 😢

It's not the same principle.

Because in Dubai it is an offence for her too.

Look at all the posts saying how you need to find out and respect the laws of the country that you are in? Well the laws of Dubai make it an offence for her, and so what happens in UK is irrelevant

What is a shame here, as BBC is reporting, is that there was some scope for this to have been prosecuted as a misdemeanour, but that did not happen.

And the mother who reported him is an utter bitch. If she was so concerned about this couple, who had both broken the law, then dob in both or neither.

Imagine if some foreign teenager had sex with a British child of 15. Do you really think the British authorities, let alone the Press, would just let them off?

The girl is from London. It's more like a 15 year old and 16 year old from a country where the age of consent is 15 coming to Britain for a holiday and having sex.

If it wasn't for the manner by which the Dubai police were informed of the incident, this would be being reported and discussed quite differently.

On the one hand he broke the law of the country he was in, on the other you do wonder about the motivations for girl's mother reporting knowing the consequences. There's been no suggestion in the reporting that the girl involved regretted the holiday relationship.

The equivalent situation would be a 16 year old tourist having consensual sex with a 15 year old tourist. You're living on another planet if you think the authorities here would be remotely interested in that scenario.

I hope the mother who reported this poor boy is feeling pleased with herself.

Yes he broke the law of the country but the mother of the girl was dreadful for reporting him to the local police.

Thanks Robocop.

He won't be released to UK custody.

If he had managed to somehow get back to the UK before sentencing, he would not be liable for extradition because his lawyers would argue that an extradition request would fail the "dual criminality" test i.e. that his behaviour would not be categorised as a criminal offence in the UK.

The girl's mother, who made the complaint, was incredibly vindictive to do so.

Absolutely, never understand why friends go on business and I discouraged my DH from going.

He broke the law and has been prosecuted, how hard can it be to understand.

Nothing whatsoever to do with depressing or winding people up. What makes you think because he is from the UK he is above the law in that country?

Some people in this country really are wet behind the ears.

The level of spite this mother has is unfathomable.

Habibi, do NOT go to Dubai!

It's incredibly depressing that some posters (although they may be simply wind up merchants) think that this is in any way fair or acceptable.

I feel sorry for him. He broke the law, but his punishment seems completely disproportionate. I wouldn't go to Dubai if you paid me.

But to the poster saying he's in the same boat as if he were in the US where they have the same age of consent (not everywhere, actually, it varies state to state) do you really think 18YO men are routinely imprisoned in the USA - for a year - for having sex with their almost 18YO girlfriends?
They're not.

I do think if a 16yo had sex with a 15yo while on holiday in England, they wouldn't be prosecuted or vilified. I don't think it would be news worthy. That's here though, it's not comparable.

That depends how old the "foreign teenager" was. If they were as close in age as this pair and the "15 year old" was a month or two short of 16 then yes they would just let them off.