Overview

• Marcus Fakana, 19, arrived back in the UK on July 3 after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum granted a royal pardon.
• He had been serving a one-year sentence at Al Aweer prison for a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old tourist, under UAE laws banning under-18 sexual relations outside marriage.
• Detained in Dubai led a month-long campaign alongside British Embassy officials and a support letter from Foreign Secretary David Lammy to secure clemency.
• The case has underscored the conflict between the UK’s lower age of consent and the UAE’s strict personal conduct statutes.
• Campaigners are calling on the UK government to strengthen travel guidance and establish safeguards for nationals detained under foreign personal conduct laws.