Marcus Fakana sentenced to a year in prison

[Zippedydodah]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles]]]]
I cannot believe that this lad is going to spend a year in prison- yes, I know that’s the law there, he should have known better etc, etc
I hope that the girl’s mother is ashamed of her actions.
I don’t want to think what the impact will be on Marcus 😥

Yes, that is true, but he wouldn't have been nearly 19 when it happened???

no

Once all the publicity has died down he will probably be freed due to FCO intervention by soft power.

And surely she must have permanently damaged her relationship with her daughter who will probably never trust her again.

The legal system in Dubai is frankly appalling, everyone should read the Detained in Dubai website if they're thinking of going there. It's really not the place for a carefree holiday, and if things go wrong the UK government are unlikely to be able to do anything.

I mean, they jail woman who report being raped on charges of having sex outside marriage fgs.

We have no information to judge anyone involved in this case. The girl has not been identified, neither has the complainant. All we do know is that this 18 year old man has broken the law in another country: a law that is widely publicised.

Absolutely right. I have no interest in going to anywhere in the uae. Unless you thoroughly read up,on the laws you are not safe. I feel so sorry for this family and the girls mother is a prize bitch imo.

A law that is widely publicised? That’s not true at all. Where has this been publicised because I haven’t seen it and I doubt a teenager would have either.

Ahhh but according to some gleeful posters on here that's just the way it is and those women should just stop getting raped. Silly women flouting the law

Those that think he is deserving of being in jail - what risk do you feel he poses to the public? What rehabilitation do you feel he needs? (although I am sure he will now Google more carefully before going on holiday)

Exactly what good does it do him or anyone else him being in prison?

Anyone going to a foreign country should check the laws. Especially since we all know religion is the law in some countries and especially in that part of the world. Plus punishments are stringent.
There are concessions for tourists but the girl was 17 . If she’d been over 18, it would have been legal. The mother crying rape is a disgusting woman but
once that rape was ruled out, there was only the issue of age.
The BBC pointed out the boy was facing 20 years in jail.
He got one year, so by comparison, he got off lightly.

We want visitors here to obey our laws. Ignorance is no defence in law. It’s somewhat hypocritical to object to other countries wanting their laws obeyed.

What good is putting him in prison? A deterrent.
He will probably get let out early for political reasons but the publicity serves as a warning to potential visitors that they can’t just ignore the law because it suits them.
I never understand why people want to go to visit different cultures and think they can behave as they do at home. When in Rome…

Thing is, it’s not that easy to find a definitive law.

the law has changed many times in the last few years, the law is not the same when applied to emirati’s or Muslims, or westerners. Something can be legal, unless reported by a woman’s husband or legal guardian. Sex can be legal, then there’s several paragraphs of “unless”…

most websites will say “generally legal” when you check. Not that it is or isn’t. Because it might be, unless certain other things apply, when it isn’t.

then the punishment also depends on a number of things- in Markus case it should have been a misdemeanor but somehow the prosecution managed to escalate it it to a prison sentence.

i am pretty good with google and research, but i can’t be sure about what the actual law is. Add to that Dubai sells itself as this paradise where local laws don’t apply to foreigners, you can drink, wear bikinis, have sex- only if you are really unlucky will you come to the attention of the authorities, and most people don’t think it will happen to them.

I think the ‘laws’ over there are so complex and open to corruption that there should be foreign office advice warning people. Have a read of ‘detained in Dubai’ people get arrested and put in jail for WhatsApp messages and Facebook posts. I am confident that I could never familiarise myself enough with their laws so I just won’t go (for other reasons also). And I’d warn my teenage sons to never go either.

It isn’t as simple as reading up on the laws. For example, a man got arrested after an uncover police man bumped in to him - he said ‘for fucks sake’. Then apologised - but was arrested and charged. Then you have the awful racism. It’s too much of a risk for anyone to travel there and the government should publicise this more.

@forgotmyusername1 Some people seem to be black and white thinkers and lack the psychological flexibility to consider these points - to them, the law is the law and that’s that. It doesn’t matter how nonsensical that law may be, it doesn’t matter what the crime is - murder and consensual sex are weighted the same apparantly. Even though the harm caused by these crimes are vastly different, that shouldn’t matter. I hope these people are never in need of any sort of nuanced understanding to be applied to them, where would we be as a society if we never dared question laws or customs. We would be the UEA probably.

There is a racial undertone to this particular case and I think there would be less people harping on sanctimoniously about obeying the law, if the 18 year old in question was a middle class white boy from the Home Counties rather than a black boy from Tottenham. We all make mistakes - apart from these perfect posters apparantly, up there on their high horses looking down at the rest of us. One mistake which didn’t harm anyone shouldn’t permanently alter and negatively change the trajectory of a young persons life, especially when this was only reported to the authorities seemingly out of spite. IMO.

The way the girls mother scuttled back off to the UK before reporting the boy is so low. Hope she rots and her daughter disowns her when old enough to do so. Nasty woman.

I’ve just said on the other thread-

most people don’t understand our own laws. We regularly see posters talking about “statutory rape” and “pressing charges”, when you can do neither in the Uk.

yet this lad is somehow supposed to research and understand Dubai’s complicated laws?

those saying he deserves what he got because he wasn’t aware of the law, do you even know your own countries laws?

I imagine had the girl had sex with a fellow Sikh whose parents were doctors from middle class suburbia, the mother would have been purring with pride and encouraging the relationship back in UK.

Im sure the MN paragons of virtue look into the laws of every place they book a holiday and research to the nth degree before they leave the country.

And let’s be honest Dubai has sold itself as a wild and wonderful anything goes type holiday destination full of excess and anything goes with a blind eye being turned.

Had this mother just reported the sex with a 17 year old, I doubt anything would have happened but because of her made up forced rape allegation which she knew would cause the police to take action, they had no choice and once the wheels were in motion, the damage was done. Marcus ‘confessed’ to consensual sex because he was being accused of rape.

The government of Dubai previously said: "Under UAE law, the girl is legally classified as a minor."

Again, he is a man who had sex with a minor, he is a convicted sex offender. Open and shut case, after a couple of weeks no one will care and he will still be in prison where he belongs.

If the public at large really cared there would be wide spread-out rage there is not, so that just shows the public opinion of this case. He handed himself in as he knew he was guilty.

Exactly and can all those smug, heartless posters honestly say that they research all the laws of every country that they go to?

I don’t. I’d be careful and try and have some understanding if I went to an Arabic country but you can’t possibly familiarise yourself with the nuances of the law and legal system of every country.

Whats rasist about the truth, funny you seem to live on this thread 😂

I wish MN had a dislike button.

I really don’t understand why people are so hostile about this young man.

He was young and foolish, yes, but I can’t believe people think what he got as punishment is in any way fair and proportionate.