James Le Mesurier: White Helmets backer 'found dead in Turkey'

James Le Mesurier, founder of the Mayday Rescue charity was found dead on Monday.
Twitter/JamesLeMesurier
Rebecca Speare-Cole11 November 2019

A former British army officer, who founded an organisation that trained the Syrian "White Helmets", has been found dead in Istanbul, according to reports.

James Le Mesurier, founder of the Mayday Rescue charity that trained members of the Syrian Civil Defence nicknamed the White Helmets, died early on Monday, according to his neighbour.

The reports of his death comes just days after a Russian diplomat accused him of being a spy.

His body was discovered near his home in central Istanbul's Beyoglu district, the neighbour added. A diplomat also said that the circumstances around his death were unclear.

However, sources reported he may have fallen from the balcony of his apartment in the Turkish city.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defence carry a wounded man on a stretcher following a reported air strike on the town of Maaret al-Numan in the jihadist-held Idlib province
AFP/Getty Images

It comes just three days after a Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, publicly accused Mr Le Mesurier of being a "former agent of Britain's MI6, who has been spotted all around the world" at a press briefing on Friday.

In the comments later shared on Twitter by the Russian foreign ministry's account, Ms Zakharova claimed he worked as a British spy across the world including the Balkans, and the Middle East.

"We were informed by his family that he had died," Raed al-Salah, the head of the White Helmets told The Independent.

“We read that the police found his body outside his home in Istanbul. But as of now, the police are investigating the case and have drawn no conclusions yet," he added.

Mr Salah said the White Helmets were "devastated" by the news.

The White Helmets, known officially as Syria Civil Defence, have been credited with saving thousands of people in rebel-held areas during years of bombing by Syrian government and Russian forces in the country's civil war.

Mayday Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation with offices in Amsterdam and Istanbul whose projects have been funded by the United Nations and various governments.

Mr Le Mesurier was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his work three years later. He leaves behind two children.

Mayday Rescue did not immediately respond to an emailed query about Le Mesurier.

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