407

London teen jailed for one year in Dubai after 'holiday romance' with 17-year-old girl (www.mylondon.news)

submitted 2 weeks ago by ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

179 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Marcus, from Tottenham, North London, had been enjoying a holiday with his parents when he met a fellow Brit at the same hotel. A holiday fling sparked and the pair spent time together until the girl, also from London, flew back to Britain.

In Dubai, if an adult has a sexual relationship with a person under 18, they can be prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with a minor. The relationship would be legal in the UK.

Marcus and his parents were set to fly back shortly after - but their plans were thrown into chaos when police knocked on their hotel room door. The "terrified" teenager was then reportedly hauled in for questioning without any explanation and held at the Al Barsha Police Station, DID said. He spent three days there, during which time he was not allowed to make a phone call or speak with his parents, it is claimed.

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 287 points 2 weeks ago

You Europeans really gotta stop vacationing in fucking Dubai, there are way cooler places to fly to.

[-] Woht24@lemmy.world 152 points 1 week ago

It's fucking Dubai.. Why would you want to go there?

A monument to man's arrogance, literal slaves, rampant misogyny, homophobia Yada Yada. Terrifying laws based on ultra conservative religions. Routinely one of the hottest places in the world and extremely expensive.

Just fucking why?

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 25 points 1 week ago

My guess is that the bri'ish family is either composed of rich assholes wanting to show off they're rich, or of scammers that still haven't got caught. Seriously, that city is a magnet for scammers to spend money on.

[-] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 18 points 1 week ago

Because for some people those are features.

load more comments (4 replies)

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 54 points 1 week ago

100%, I hated every minute of my layover wandering that shit-quality SimCity attempt, the bubble popped real fast once I talked to some locals.

I can't wait for the sand to bury that cruel slave labor shitberg.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The only good reason to be there is a connecting flight

load more comments (6 replies)

[-] JasminIstMuede@lemmy.blahaj.zone 276 points 2 weeks ago

I will never understand why this place is idolized by so many people...

[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 129 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Or why you'd even vacation there. How tf did they convince people to vacation in a desert?

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 36 points 2 weeks ago

FOMO. makes it seem exclusive. For whatever reason at least 50% of humans are just wired to want to feel better than everyone else. The actual experience itself doesn't matter as long as they can brag about it knowing that others weren't able to achieve it. Dubai literally has ice shipped in from melting glaciers so that rich people can put it into their drink https://arcticice.ae/

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 week ago

Seriously, it’s like worse Vegas, and I don’t like Vegas at all

load more comments (9 replies)

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] Sakychu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 51 points 2 weeks ago

If you are talking about social media it is likely that they aren't allowed to post something negative about the country or else you can be fined. If you are working as an influncer in Dubai you'll need to obtain an license which regulates what you can post but you basically pay no income taxes

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] sensiblepuffin@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago

For the Middle East, it's relatively progressive, from what I understand. That being said, that's a low low bar.

[-] Nanook@lemm.ee 34 points 2 weeks ago

I first thought you wrote “from the Middle East” yeah no. Dubai is Saudi Arabia with better PR.

load more comments (2 replies)

load more comments (11 replies)

[-] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 137 points 2 weeks ago

Fuck Dubai.

Signed me, who grew up there.

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] beansbeansbeans@lemmy.world 124 points 2 weeks ago

Dubai is a terrible place. People need to stop going there.

[-] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 30 points 2 weeks ago

I even worry about transiting places like this.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 83 points 1 week ago

Hard to feel sorry about anyone travelling to Dubai.

[-] raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

Correct for adults, but this was the kid travelling with his parents. It's likely that the decision was the parents' - also, most kids are not very well-versed in politics.

load more comments (15 replies)

[-] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 60 points 2 weeks ago

I'm curious how the authorities were even aware of this occurring. The article says they were on holiday, so it's not like there was much time. How did anyone notice their ages? Was it just fishing for a charge because of unrelated reasons?

[-] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 83 points 2 weeks ago

Either

They're always watching. I'm in tech and was taught in my security training - when traveling to countries with extremely strong surveillance, assume you are bugged. Family could be high valued and they wanted something from the parents. Probably a bit too tinfoil hat.
Vengeance girl's parents could be assholes/racist. As a dude, Ive had my share of "mommy & daddy doesn't like me for taking their precious flower". Multiplier in effect if they have a problem that I'm a PoC.

[-] Dashmezzo@lemm.ee 50 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It was the mother of the girl. She got back to the UK found out about the boy and contacted the Dubai authorities. Apparently the girl was days off her 18th birthday too. It was in the news report when he was originally arrested.

Wrecked a young man’s life for some bullshit reason.

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 23 points 1 week ago

You already know that Mommy phoned it in but after reading several articles I'm going to guess she did it because her family is Muslim. According to another article his family knew about it but didn't care however she was hiding it from her family because they were "quite strict".

I won't discount racist assholes of course but you'd have to be SERIOUSLY over the top to know about this law in Dubai, let alone be willing to make an international phone call to the Dubai police about it. This smacks of religiously motivated behavior.

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

I think either of those are super plausible. There will be people where they stayed who are happy to snitch, no bugs required. On top of that, the UAE has one of the highest concentration of surveillance cameras in the world. Like 30,000 in Dubai. Throw in some facial recognition cross referenced with the list of folks on vacation or on business in the city and it's real easy to find out who is spending time together, what their ages are, and what their kids will look like.

The second one happens all the time. Happened to me when I turned 18 before my then girlfriend. Her mom threatened me with jail and all kinds of shit even though it was perfectly legal and we were only a couple of months apart. She just didn't like me or the fact that I was dating her daughter. Would have probably been worse if I had been a PoC.

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] pandapoo@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Did you read the article?

The girls mother reported him to the Dubai police.

Hopefully her identity is revealed to the public and she faces some consequences for her actions. Maybe it's already been leaked or released elsewhere, but it wasn't in that article.

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments (13 replies)

[-] atro_city@fedia.io 44 points 2 weeks ago

I won't say I'll never go to Dubai, but I will say I'll do my best to never end up there.

[-] Zexks@lemmy.world 38 points 2 weeks ago

Sry no sympathies. You vacation in a religiously oppressive hell hole this is what you get. Stay the fuck out of Dubai.

[-] Frog@lemmy.ca 32 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Okay look. This dude is 18. His brain isn't fully developed, he didn't even graduate from high school yet, his hormones are out of control, and he has a penis.

If you still can't see why he wasn't thinking clearly, please read this article Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[-] Vorticity@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago

No sympathies? He didn't choose where to vacation, his parents did. Should children pay for their parents' mistakes?

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I wonder if there is a law in the UK that would allow the parents of the boy to sue the mother of the girl for snitching. Like, she weaponized the laws of another country that criminalize behaviours that are legal in the UK, for things that happened between UK citizens abroad. That sounds like something UK legislators might have the power and incentive to legislate, right?

Also, I would not fault the girl if she hated her horrible mother for the rest of her life.

[-] HowManyNimons@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

£20 says she's white and racist.

[-] Cyyris@infosec.pub 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

As I'm reading this story I keep wondering...
How in the hell did the authorities even catch wind of this even happening?
Did someone report them?
Are all the rooms tapped and monitored Stasi-style?

[-] Dashmezzo@lemm.ee 18 points 2 weeks ago

Mother of girl reported him after they had left and he was still there.

[-] Aatube@kbin.melroy.org 13 points 1 week ago

Well, did you read it?

After returning to the UK and seeing pictures and chats, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who then arrested Mr Fakana at his hotel, it is alleged.

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] tal@lemmy.today 15 points 2 weeks ago

On one hand, yeah, that sucks.

On the other hand, you go to a foreign country, you're subject to their laws, and it's on you to be aware of them.

There are weapons that I could happily lug around in the US that the UK would take issue with if I were to be doing so in the UK. Do I personally feel that British law is going the right way on this? No. However, it's British territory, and so British law has jurisdiction. Saying "but I'm from the US and that would be perfectly legal back home" isn't going to carry a lot of water with British courts, or, I expect, with British public opinion.

Similarly, a Brit can't exactly go to the UAE and just do as one does in the UK and expect the UAE to accept it because something's legal in the UK. International travel is a lot cheaper and easier than it ever has been historically, but once you walk across the line of a sovereign territory, it's got real consequences, and if you choose to travel internationally, it's on you to be aware of them. That country isn't just a tourism spot for people from Country X, but a home for people who live there. They've got their own rules and concerns.

The chief executive of campaign group Detained in Dubai said Mr Fakana felt abandoned by the British government. He's expected to appeal against his sentence.

I don't really see a reasonable complaint against the British government here, at least from the article text.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] madcaesar@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

I have the family's next vacation picked out! Saudi Arabia, where they'll have a fully stocked bar of alcohol and pork waiting for them to enjoy! What could go wrong!

Stop spending your money in these Islamofascist countries!

load more comments

this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024

407 points (96.6% liked)

Not The Onion

12559 readers

341 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

Links to news stories from...
...credible sources, with...
...their original headlines, that...
...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Comments must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

kescusay@lemmy.world