A driver has admitted causing the death of Marcus Fakana, the British teenager whose imprisonment in Dubai drew international attention, after a police pursuit ended in a fatal crash in north London. The guilty plea comes just three months after Fakana returned to the UK, having been freed from a Dubai jail by a royal pardon granted by the emirate’s ruler following a high-profile campaign.
Crash and guilty plea
Marwaan Mohamed Huseen, 20, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to causing Fakana’s death by dangerous driving, the BBC reported. Appearing via video link from HMP Pentonville, he admitted multiple offences, including causing death by dangerous driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance, and failing to stop after the incident.
Marwaan Mohamed Huseen who has admitted killing a Tottenham teenager Marcus Fakana in car crash.Credit: Metropolitan Police
The collision happened in the early hours of 3 October last year in Tottenham. Prosecutors said Huseen was driving a BMW away from pursuing Metropolitan Police officers when the vehicle crashed into a lorry. Fakana, 19, who was a passenger in the BMW, was taken to hospital and later died from his injuries. A second passenger was badly hurt. Police said officers had attempted to stop a “vehicle of interest” on Pretoria Road before briefly losing sight of it. When they arrived on The Roundway moments later, they found the car had already been involved in the collision. Huseen was arrested at the scene and has remained in custody since.
The car Marcus Fakana was travelling in crashed into a lorry while being pursued by police/ Image: BBC
Also read: British teen dies in police chase months after release from Dubai prison following royal pardon
A life marked by imprisonment overseas
Fakana’s death came just three months after he returned to the UK from Dubai, where he had spent almost a year in prison. In the summer of 2024, he had travelled to the United Arab Emirates with his parents. While there, aged 18, he entered what was described as a holiday romance with a 17-year-old girl from London.Although such a relationship would have been legal in the UK, it breached UAE law, which criminalises any sexual relationship involving a person under 18. By contrast, UK law allows consensual sexual relationships from the age of 16. According to reports, the relationship had been kept secret because of the girl’s family’s strictness, with plans to continue seeing each other back in the UK. The case came to the attention of authorities in Dubai after the girl’s mother discovered photographs and messages on her daughter’s phone. Fakana was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison. His case drew widespread attention in Britain, with protests calling for his release. He was freed on 3 July last year after receiving a royal pardon from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Reaction and aftermath
Radha Sterling, chief executive of the campaign group Detained in Dubai, which had lobbied for Fakana’s release, said she was “heartbroken” by news of his death. “It’s sad that of all of 2025, he was only free for the three months from the 3rd of July until the 3rd of October,” she said. Sterling added that Fakana had been “grateful for the compassion shown to him by the British public” following his release and that his experience in prison had led him to embrace Christianity and prayer. Despite the ordeal, she said, he had been hopeful about his future. Sentencing for Huseen has been adjourned. A further hearing is scheduled for 27 February, when the court is expected to set a date for sentencing.
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