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British doctor 'unlawfully killed' in Syria

A jury has returned a verdict of unlawful killing at an inquest into the death of British doctor in a Syrian prison.

Abbas Khan, a 32-year-old father-of-two from London, died on December 16 2013 while in custody in Damascus.

His family claim he was murdered, but the Syrian government has always maintained that the orthopaedic surgeon killed himself and was found hanging in a jail cell.

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Minister: Abbas Khan's family deserve answers

Tobias Ellwood, Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, said there could be no excuse for the "reprehensible treatment" suffered by Dr Abbas Khan at the hands of the Syrian regime.

“Dr Khan’s imprisonment without consular access was unacceptable. The Foreign Office consistently sought access and pressed for his detention to be reviewed including through ministers and international partners.

The Syrian regime ignored these approaches. It can no longer do so. His family deserve answers and those responsible for Dr Khan’s death should be brought to justice. This is yet another example of the brutal nature of the Syrian regime which has killed thousands of innocent civilians.”

– Tobias Ellwood, Foreign Office minister

Abbas Khan family 'vindicated' by unlawful killing verdict

The family of a 32-year-old south London doctor who died in a Syrian prison has welcomed a jury's finding that he was unlawfully killed.

Abbas Khan was captured in Aleppo in November 2012 after travelling from Turkey and died in December last year.

The mother of Abbas Khan, Fatima Khan (left), his sister Sara and brother Afroze speak outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Credit: Press Association

Following a two-week trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, the jury found there was no evidence that he had gone to Syria to fight.

Outside court, Dr Khan's brother, Afroze Khan, said: "We have always maintained that our brother was an innocent man who travelled to Syria for no other reason than helping injured civilians in the conflict. We have always maintained that he was mistreated, maltreated and tortured by the Syrian authorities and that he was murdered by the Syrians.

"Today, our position as a family has been vindicated completely. All the allegations against my brother - that he had gone for any other reason - have been disproved today."

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Abbas Khan unlawfully killed in Syria, jury decides

Dr Abbas Khan died in a prison in Damascus at the end of last year. Credit: ITV News/Family handout

The jury at the inquest of Dr Abbas Khan has ruled that the British doctor was unlawfully killed when he died in a Syrian prison in December 2013.

The medical cause of death was not ascertained but the jury concluded Dr Khan was deliberately and intentionally killed without any legal justification.

Read: Wife of dead British surgeon: He was my whole life

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