Teenager Jailed in Dubai for Consensual Relationship Dies in Car Crash

In a tragic turn of events, a teenager who was imprisoned in Dubai last year for having a consensual sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl has died in a car crash in London, just three months after receiving a royal pardon.

Marcus Fakana, 19, was involved in a road traffic collision in North London on October 3, 2025. Police officers attempted to stop the vehicle Fakana was traveling in, but lost sight of it briefly before discovering it had been involved in an accident. Fakana was rushed to the hospital with "significant injuries" but sadly passed away shortly after.

Fakana's imprisonment in the UAE last year had been a high-profile case, as both he and the girl were above the legal age of consent in the UK at the time of their relationship. However, all sex outside of marriage is illegal in Dubai, and the girl's mother had reported the pair to the authorities after seeing messages between them. Fakana was sentenced to one year in a maximum-security prison, but was granted a royal pardon by Dubai's ruler in July 2025, just three months before his untimely death.

The tragic incident has left Fakana's loved ones and advocates devastated. Radha Stirling, chief executive of the campaign group Detained in Dubai, expressed her heartbreak over the news, stating that Fakana's time in the Dubai prison had likely caused him "long-lasting mental anguish."