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And that’s basically it!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don't believe that detail was in the article when I read it, but I'm unable to find any copies from before the update. I can tell you the article now is very different from the original.
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.
Probably saw them socializing and then followed him on security cameras. Possibly seeing him go in her hotel room or vice versa. Then they haul him in and he admits what went on
I won't say I'll never go to Dubai, but I will say I'll do my best to never end up there.
Sry no sympathies. You vacation in a religiously oppressive hell hole this is what you get. Stay the fuck out of Dubai.
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.
No sympathies? He didn't choose where to vacation, his parents did. Should children pay for their parents' mistakes?
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?
Mother of girl reported him after they had left and he was still there.
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.
Teenagers in love are hardly subtle. Staff probably reported them.
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.
"Wasn't me."