A former British Army officer who founded the leading emergency response group in Syria was found dead outside his house in Istanbul days after being labeled a spy by Russia.
The body of James le Mesurier, 48, was found early Monday morning by worshippers on their way to a mosque. Although the cause of death was not yet confirmed, it is believed he died from a fall from the third-floor balcony of his Istanbul residence.
Le Mesurier was the director of the charity Mayday Rescue, which trained members of the Syria Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets. The White Helmets have rescued thousands of civilians from Syrian and Russian attacks in rebel-held parts of the region but have been labeled terrorists by the Syrian government and criticized for years in the media by Moscow, which supports the regime of Syrian strongman Bashar al Assad.
According to his wife, le Mesurier and she had both taken sleeping pills around 4 a.m. and she went to sleep. When she woke up, she said her husband was lying on the road outside their house surrounded by Turkish police. He has two children, although it is unclear if they were at the residence at the time of his death.
Mark Urban, diplomatic editor of BBC’s Newsnight, said in a series of tweets Monday that it “would not have been possible” for le Mesurier to fall from the balcony of his home.
He later added: “I have deleted a strand about the unexplained death of @SyriaCivilDef founder James Le Mesurier in Istanbul. Shorter version: there’s a good deal of suspicion it may be murder by a state actor, but others suggest he may have taken his own life. I will pick up as it clarifies.”
I have deleted a strand about the unexplained death of @SyriaCivilDef founder James Le Mesurier in Istanbul. Shorter version: there’s a good deal of suspicion it may be murder by a state actor, but others suggest he may have taken his own life. I will pick up as it clarifies
— Mark Urban (@MarkUrban01) November 11, 2019
Le Mesurier’s death comes three days after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that he was a “former agent of Britain’s MI6, who has been spotted all around the world” and claimed that “his connections to terrorist groups were reported back during his mission in Kosovo.”
#Zakharova: The White Helmets’ co-founder, James Le Mesurier, is a former agent of Britain’s MI6, who has been spotted all around the world, including in the #Balkans and the #MiddleEast. His connections to terrorist groups were reported back during his mission in #Kosovo. pic.twitter.com/Fa7JTuP39Z
— MFA Russia ?? (@mfa_russia) November 8, 2019
Raed Salah, head of the White Helmets, said that his organization was “devastated” by the news and awaiting more information from authorities in Turkey.
“We read that the police found his body outside his home in Istanbul,” Salah said. “But as of now, the police are investigating the case and have drawn no conclusions yet. We are waiting for the police report.”
The White Helmets have documented a number of atrocities committed by the Assad regime including chemical weapons attacks against civilians. Mesurier was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2016 for his and his charity’s work helping Syrians.
The White Helmets have been at the center of a years-long disinformation campaign from Russia and Syria.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons expert who served with le Mesurier in the army, said claims le Mesurier was a spy were untrue and rooted in Russian propaganda.
“The work James and the White Helmets did is phenomenal. There are few people who have done more on the humanitarian side,” he said. “Like all of us he suffered from Russian and Syrian disinformation and propaganda. To claim he worked for MI6 and al Qaeda is a contradiction and crass.”
Le Mesurier was an officer in the British Army, serving in the Royal Green Jackets regiment and reputedly with the Special Air Service (SAS) and was part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the former Yugoslavia. He later moved into the private sector as a consultant before the formation of the White Helmets.
After his Monday death, Le Mesurier’s wife told police that he was taking medication for “extreme stress” and that the couple had moved into the Istanbul residence to be close to a health center.
