Marcus Fakana gets prison sentence in Dubai.

[Ohnonotmeagain]

This is the 18 year old lad who had a holiday romance with a 17 year old girl in Dubai. She was just short of 18.

her parents found out and reported him to the Dubai authorities before he returned home.

his poor parents aren’t well off and had to return home to work leaving him there.

he’s now been sentenced to 1 year in prison.

aibu to think this poor boy should never have been brought before court.

I do know it doesn’t work like that 👍

@prh47bridge yep everybody keeps saying If THiS hAPPenEd iN bRItaIN….but I don’t think they would actually bother prosecuting a 16 year old British boy who had sex with a 15 year old British girl. Even if the family reported them to the authorities.

I think you’re probably completely correct which makes it even worse.

That part of the world would be a no-go zone for me, god knows why anyone thinks it’s a holiday destination. I don’t even like stoping over at their airports!

But the whole point of this is :the law in Dubai is different. That's it. Laws in lot of countries are different to the UK. We don't have a law about jaywalking for example. We cross the road anywhere. Some countries only allow people to cross at designated crossings. It seems silly to us, but that is their law.
No amount of pontificating from us alters that.

It’s really quite baffling that with a couple months between them he is an “adult” and she is a “child”!

I still can’t see under what law she could be prosecuted.

The unreasonable part is going on holiday there in the first place.

It's just as likely her identity's being hidden to avoid reprisals, Theunnamedcat
I'd be very surprised if the media aren't already aware of her name but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll publish, especially if she's still a minor

That leaves the question of Maarcus or his parents divulging who she is, but we don't know if the parents even knew her name and I rather doubt Marcus now has access to a phone except under the strictest conditions

He should make the most of his time in prison - study for A levels?

I’m aware of another young man same age who did a year incarcerated for same crime in Dubai. He was 100% aware of the law, it was consensual … the girl’s parents disagreed. He & the girl both expats & resident. It’s more common than you think.

Can only think he was a total idiot, the girls parents disagreed too. But she didn’t get jail because it was considered rape.
He did his time and moved on.

Pretty sure UAE prisons aren't set up for studying, but I may be wrong

Then why do you want her to be sent to jail? 🤔

You said his behaviour was disrespectful. The facts of the case are that it was a holiday romance not merely a “shag” as you are incorrectly reporting.

But whether a shag or a holiday romance - do you think the girl’s behaviour was equally disrespectful to her parents? You were very eager to give your opinion on the boy’s disrespect why so coy at giving a view on the girl?

I absolutely agree

So Many more culturally interesting countries with better attitudes to peoples differences and not so hot!

No opinion.

Dubai has marketed itself very well as an aspirational travel destination, via influencers and such.

@JHound - you are arguing with someone who just wants to get a rise. Their obtuse word twisting regarding the fact that they were the one to introduce the concept of respect into this argument tells you that alone. Save your energy for a more worthy opponent.

I 100% know a white boy did 1 year for same crime in Dubai.
white boy guity, 1 yr in jail for same crime, very similar circumstances where white girl parents reported him. They did not go the UK news to look for help as he was guilty. Did his time and moved on, you will not find his name in the news.

Surely can read study guides.

The difference between this situation and jaywalking, as I'm sure you will appreciate, is that jaywalking doesn't carry a prison term. We aren't discussing some abstract technicality, we are talking about a young adult spending a year in a men's prison where no-one speaks his language. Something that some posters here seem to be hugely blasé about, but he's just a black boy they don't know, right?

I call bullshit.

Fascinating…..

And explains a lot. 🙂

It's a pleasure.

There are definitely some like that here - look at the poster calling him “disrespectful” but having no opinion on the girl’s behaviour. They always out themselves eventually.