"Marcus was thankful to have regained his freedom."
Marcus Fakana was a British teenager who was jailed in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old Indian girl.
On Friday, October 3, 2025, Marcus passed away after being involved in a car crash in Tottenham, North London. He was 19 years old.
He was taken to the hospital after sustaining serious injuries, but died shortly after admission.
Officers from the Met Police had attempted to stop a car but lost sight of the vehicle after a 60-second chase.
The officers later discovered that the car had crashed into a truck.
In November 2024, Marcus faced up to 20 years in a Dubai prison for having sex with the Indian teenager.
He was aged 18 at the time, and in September 2024, he was on a holiday in the United Arab Emirates.
Marcus reportedly met the girl, who was also from London, while staying in the same hotel as her.
The pair had sex in Dubai and planned to continue their relationship upon their return to the UK.
However, the girl’s mother allegedly reported their relationship to the Dubai authorities after reading texts on her daughter’s phone.
Marcus was subsequently arrested in Dubai.
The FCDO states: “Consensual sexual relationships between a male and female outside marriage are generally legal as long as both are over the age of 18 years.
“This includes extramarital sexual relationships.
“If a person aged 18 or over has a sexual relationship with a person under 18 years old, they will be prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with a minor.”
In July 2025, the detained teenager received a royal pardon from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after he was sentenced to one year in prison.
Following Marcus’s death, Radha Stirling, his lawyer and founder of the Detained in Dubai group, said:
“Marcus was thankful to have regained his freedom and was looking forward to building a positive future.
“Marcus spent the majority of this year in a Dubai prison which no doubt caused him long lasting mental anguish.
“It’s sad that of all of 2025, he was only free for the three months from July 3 to October 3.”
Marwaan Mohamed Huseen, aged 19, has been arrested and charged over the car crash that killed Marcus.
His charges include causing death by dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and failing to stop.
He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 30, 2025.
Following Marcus’s arrest in 2024, Radha Stirling criticised the Indian teenager’s mother for reporting the relationship.
Ms Stirling said: “Perhaps she didn’t realise the triggered the possibility of an 18-year-old spending the next 20 years in prison.
“This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.”
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