British diplomat murdered in Beirut - body found on motorway ‘with choke marks’
A BRITISH diplomat has been murdered in Beirut with Lebanese police arresting one man.
A woman's body was discovered on the side of the Metn Highway in Beirut yesterday.
The body had choke marks, according to local press, who said it also appeared she had been thrown from a car and sexually assaulted.
Lebanese police today confimed the woman was Rebecca Dykes, who worked at the British embassy in Beirut. They said they were treating the incident as murder.
A man was arrested in connection with the incident early this morning.
Police identified the man only as TH. He was seized at 3am and is believed to be a taxi driver.
Ms Dykes had been celebrating a colleague’s leaving party in central Beirut before leaving with a friend, who she left a short time after.
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Senior police sources told the BBC she was “sexually assaulted and strangled”.
And security sources confirmed the incident is not thought to be politically motivated.
Ms Dykes family said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.
"We request that the media respect our privacy as we come together as a family at this very difficult time."
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Her body was taken to Dahr al-Bashak Hospital where a post-mortem has now taken place. A second is expected shortly.
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."
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Ms Dykes had been in Beirut since January this year. She had been working for the Department for International Development.
A spokesperson for the department said: “Our thoughts are with Becky's family and friends at this very upsetting time."
British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter 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 & working very closely with Lebanese authorities who are conducting police investigation."
