A driver has admitted killing a British teenager in a car crash just three months after the 19-year-old was released from a Dubai prison.
Marwaan Mohamed Huseen, 20, was trying to get away from pursuing police when he crashed a BMW into a lorry, killing one of the car’s passengers, Marcus Fakana.
Mr Fakana, from Tottenham, north London, was aged 18 when he was jailed in Dubai in December 2024 for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, also from London, during a “holiday romance”.
He was reported to police in the United Arab Emirates after the girl’s mother saw pictures and messages on her phone.
Mr Fakana was granted a royal pardon and released in July 2025, after initially being handed a year-long sentence.
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 fatal crash in Tottenham in the early hours of 3 October 2025 also badly injured a second passenger in the vehicle.
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Huseen pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Fakana by dangerous driving at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday via videolink from HMP Pentonville.
He also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving to another passenger in the BMW, and admitted being uninsured and unlicensed at the time.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were attempting to stop a “vehicle of interest” in Pretoria Road, and after a minute-long pursuit they temporarily lost sight of the vehicle.
When officers drove into The Roundway, they discovered the vehicle had been involved in a crash.
Scotland Yard said Mr Fakana was taken to hospital where he later died.
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Huseen, also from Tottenham, has been in custody since he was arrested at the scene of the crash.
Judge Emma Deacon KC remanded him in custody again on Friday after the guilty pleas.
A sentencing date will be set at a hearing on 27 February.
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After the fatal crash, Radha Sterling, chief executive of campaign group Detained in Dubai which had lobbied for Mr Fakana’s release, said she was “heartbroken” by the news.
“Marcus spent the majority of this year in a Dubai prison which no doubt caused him long-lasting mental anguish”, she said.
