On this date, November 1, 2019, Tarek Houshi, an Uber driver, was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes in Lebanon. I welcome the death sentence and hope that he will be put to death for the crime.
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CONDEMNED TO DIE Rebecca Dykes – Uber driver sentenced to death for murdering Brit embassy worker days before Christmas in Lebanon |
Uber driver is sentenced to death for the rape and murder of British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes in Lebanon
· Tarek Houshi raped the 30-year-old Briton and strangled her to death in 2017
· He confessed to his crimes and was sentenced to death by a court in Lebanon
· Ms Dykes worked in Beirut with the Department for International Development
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An Uber driver has been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes nearly two years ago.
Tarek Houshi raped the 30-year-old Briton and strangled her to death with a rope in December 2017 before dumping her body at a roadside.
Ms Dykes, who worked in Beirut with the Department for International Development, had got into his hire car after leaving a bar in the Lebanese capital.
The suspect was arrested two days later after being tracked down on security camera footage and confessed to his crimes.
The Criminal Court of Mount Lebanon delivered its verdict on Friday, according to the country's National News Agency.
The British embassy said it hoped the court's decision would 'provide a degree of closure' for those close to Dykes.
'Becky was much loved and is deeply missed,' the embassy said in a statement.
A Lebanese judge who was tasked with investigating the crime requested the death sentence in February last year.
Judge Hanna Braidi accused Houshi of raping and killing the British embassy worker in a 'premeditated and deliberate act'.
According to the judge's investigation, Ms Dykes got into Houshi's vehicle shortly after midnight before the car stopped by a roadside.
Ms Dykes's body was found dumped on that roadside on December 16, strangled and showing signs of sexual assault.
Ms Dykes had last been seen alive at a party in Gemmayzeh, a Beirut neighbourhood popular with foreign residents, on a Friday night.
Lebanese judges routinely call for death sentences in cases of murder, but Houshi's sentence can be appealed.
Moreover, Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 2004, according to Human Rights Watch.
'While we welcome the guilty verdict, the UK government continues to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances,' the embassy statement said.
The Briton's family said at the time that they would 'never fully recover' from their loss.
'For Becky to have her life cruelly taken away in these circumstances is devastating to our family,' they said in December 2017.
Friends said she had been planning to fly back to the UK for Christmas just hours later.
Her family said she had 'improved the lives of countless refugees and vulnerable host communities' through her work in Lebanon.
She had previously spent four years in Hong Kong, teaching English to teenagers. She also worked as a human rights monitor, translating documents from Chinese to English.
Relatives have since set up a charitable foundation in Ms Dykes's name to help refugees.
Then-International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said Ms Dykes had 'changed thousands of lives for the better'.
Judicial sources revealed that Houshi had been previously been arrested twice for alleged harassment and theft.
However, there was suspicion that he might have faked his criminal record documents in order to work as a driver in the city.
A Lebanese minister urged his countrymen to avoid Uber in the wake of the killing, calling the ride-hailing firm unsafe.
Uber said at the time that it was 'horrified by this senseless act of violence'.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7639927/Uber-driver-sentenced-death-rape-murder-Briton-Rebecca-Dykes-Lebanon.html
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A portrait of Rebecca Dykes is displayed at a candlelit vigil in Beirut in December 2017, shortly after the British embassy worker was killed |
CONDEMNED TO DIE Rebecca Dykes – Uber driver sentenced to death for murdering Brit embassy worker days before Christmas in Lebanon Breaking
Debbie White
1 Nov 2019, 14:21Updated: 1 Nov 2019, 15:12
AN UBER driver who confessed to killing Brit embassy worker Rebecca Dykes in Lebanon is to be executed.
A criminal court has sentenced Tarek Houchiye to death after the 30-year-old was raped and murdered in Beirut two years ago.
The Brit was sexually assaulted and strangled to death with a rope after getting in a taxi following a 'girl's night out' at a popular tourist bar in Beirut.
The Sun previously revealed Houchiye had confessed to cops that he raped and killed Rebecca.
Her body was found near a road on December 16, 2017, with choke marks around her neck.
A source told how her fate was sealed when she got into the taxi and the driver saw her wearing a short skirt.
The source said: "He said he found her pretty, wearing a short skirt…and so he decided to rape her as it would be easy as she was a foreigner."
POSSIBLE APPEAL
The National News Agency in Lebanon said Houchiye, a local Uber driver, was sentenced to death on Friday.
His execution can be appealed, however, reports the Associated Press.
Rebecca was working at the UK Embassy as a programme and policy manager with the Department for International Development at the time of her brutal attack.
She was a University of Manchester graduate, and also had a masters in International Security and Global Governance.
Rebecca, a keen runner who spoke four languages, had been due to fly home to be with her family for Christmas.
She was last seen leaving a bar in the Gemayzeh district of Beirut.
FAKE PAPERS
Her killer, who authorities said at the time had a criminal record, was arrested two days after her disappearance.
His driving licence and other documents revealed he had faked his criminal record papers so he could work as a cabbie in Beirut.
Houchiye, a Lebanese national also known as Hesso, was also said to have hidden his convictions for drug offences and assault.
A security source said in 2017: “It is well known that he had a criminal past and convictions."
Although Lebanese judges routinely call for death sentences in cases of murder, the country has an unofficial moratorium and has not carried out an execution since 2004, according to monitoring group, Human Rights Watch.
After her death, the Rebecca Dykes Foundation was set up in her honour in tribute to "a compassionate and dedicated humanitarian whose life was cut tragically short".
Through the organisation, launched by her friends and family, funds are raised to support projects close to Rebecca's heart, including help for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.