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.

  • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    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

    • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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      20 hours ago

      But why were they watching in the first place? How did they know their ages?

      • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        It would be pretty easy (with big error bars but since when did authoritarians give a shit about that?) to set up some alerts based on facial recognition when someone under 18 (they have their passport information) is hanging out with someone over 18 who did not arrive in the same party.