The family of the teenager being held in Dubai after he was charged with having s£x with another tourist – a 17-year-old girl, who is now 18, is pleading for help from the ruler of Dubai
Marcus Fakana was arrested for having a sexual relationship with the unnamed girl while they were on holiday in the UAE.
He has been detained there awaiting trial early next month.
In a new statement, his family said: ‘We are praying for the day we can be returned with Marcus.’
His parents said: ‘We’ve sought assistance from Foreign Secretary David Lammy to ensure his right to upheld and we ask HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, to please let our boy come home.
‘This ordeal has caused us terrible emotional and financial strain and every day is an emotional battle.’
The boy’s family, who are from Tottenham, North London, said they were grateful for the continued support from the public, the media, and friends and family who ‘have been incredible and gives us hope’.
More than £24,000 has been raised to help the legal fight to return Marcus to Britain, but the family warned that a fake GoFundMe page was also in existence.
Marcus was held in Dubai’s ‘notorious’ Al Barsha Police Station for days after the ‘strict’ mother of the girl he had sex with on holiday this summer reported him to authorities.
The pair who had met while staying at the same hotel with their families, ‘had a wonderful time together’, with the girl, also a Brit – meeting up in secret as she feared she could not tell her mother she was seeing a boy.
While the relationship would have been legal in the UK, under Dubai law a 17-year-old is defined as a child. The girl has since turned 18.
Setting up a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal fees to bring him home, Marcus’ family said: ‘What was meant to be a happy time has turned into a nightmare for him, our family, and our friends.
‘This has happened as a result of someone trying to misuse UAE law against him.
‘He is being charged with a crime that could lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years.
‘He is only 18 years old, very scared, and his mental health is starting to decline.’