British diplomat is found ‘raped and strangled’
A BRITISH diplomat may have been raped before being strangled to death and dumped by the roadside in Lebanon, it emerged last night.
Rebecca Dykes, who worked at the British embassy in Beirut, was believed to have been abducted after leaving a bar on her own on Friday night.
The body of the 30-year-old former public schoolgirl was found by a motorway several miles from the nightspot she was last seen alive.
Lebanese police have launched an investigation following the discovery on Saturday evening. One security source said the diplomat was found with ‘a piece of string around her neck’. Miss Dykes worked for the Department for International Development as a programme and policy manager and moved to Beirut in January.
In a statement, her family said last night: ‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.’ The diplo-
mat, who was understood to be planning to fly home for Christmas on Saturday, had been at a leaving party for a British embassy colleague at a bar in the Gemmayzeh area of central Beirut.
She left alone just after midnight and is thought to have been abducted minutes
later. Police sources gave the cause of death as strangulation following a postmortem examination, but added that
another test is to be carried out.
One official involved in the investigation said: ‘Our first impression is that it’s not politically motivated.’
He said her body was found ‘on the side of the Matn expressway east of central
Beirut. He said investigators were looking into reports that Miss Dykes had been sexually assaulted. Local media reported that Miss Dykes had been raped but the claim has not been confirmed.
One friend said: ‘It’s horrific. We had no idea what happened to her until we got a call today to go to the police station to give statements.’ Hugo Shorter, the British ambassador to Lebanon, said: ‘The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news. My thoughts are with Becky’s family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss. ‘We’re providing consular support to her family and working very closely with Lebanese authorities who are conducting a police investigation.’ Miss Dykes was a boarder at Malvern St James girls’ school in Worcestershire and then spent two years at Rugby School, one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. She graduated in social anthropology at Manchester University in 2008.
Miss Dykes then completed a master’s degree in international security and global governance at Birkbeck, University of London.
She joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2010 and worked in Iraq as a research analyst before working in Libya as a policy manager. On her LinkedIn page she described herself as ‘skilled in conflict, international relations, civil society and humanitarian assistance’.
Miss Dykes spent four years in Hong Kong, teaching English to teenagers. She also worked as a human rights monitor, translating documents from Chinese to English. Last night friends and colleagues spoke of their shock. Bilal Al Ayoubi wrote on Twitter: ‘What a great loss. The ugly face of life is when someone dedicates her life to working for peace and stability in the world gets murdered in such brutality…very sad.
‘She was such a sweet and kind lady who took her job seriously and cared about Lebanon’s stability.’ A friend, Brooke Anderson, wrote on Facebook: ‘Simply in shock. We will miss you, Becky.’
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to several areas in Lebanon, including southern suburbs of Beirut, and all but essential travel to most other areas of the country.
Terror attacks are deemed ‘very likely’ in the country, and protests in Beirut are common following the US announcement on the status of Jerusalem.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: ‘Following the death of a British woman in Beirut, we are providing support to the family. We remain in close contact with local authorities. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.’
Britain has spent millions supporting Lebanon’s armed forces to address ‘security threats originating from Syria’. Cash has also been spent on preventing ‘illegal crossborder activity’ between Lebanon and Syria – an area where jihadists have been active – and assisting local policing.
Last night some said the attack may have been hushed up by Lebanese authorities. Rami Cherri wrote on Twitter: ‘The lack of coverage ... on any Lebanese news channel is disgusting to say the least.’
‘We are devastated’