Death of Abbas Khan

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Abbas Khan, a father of two, was a British orthopaedic surgeon who was killed at age 32 on 16 December 2013 while imprisoned by the Syrian government. The Syrian government claim that Dr. Abbas committed suicide but this is disputed. The British Foreign Office say that Dr Abbas was "effectively murdered". [1]

In November 2012, Abbas Khan had gone to Turkey to help refugees from Syria during the civil war, but, after two weeks, he crossed the border into Syria to help those unable to reach the border between the two countries. Khan was arrested in Aleppo, [2] 48 hours after entering Syria. When Khan's younger sister, Sara, found out that her brother was missing, the family contacted the Foreign Office, hoping for help in finding him, but the FCO did nothing. Eventually, his mother, Fatima Khan, found Abbas in a prison in Damascus through unofficial help given by the Indian and Russian embassies eight months later. [3] When she found him, his weight had dropped to less than 32 kg (71 lb), and he could hardly walk. She also described seeing a missing fingernail and burned feet — signs of torture familiar to Syrians. [4] He told her that he had been tortured and held for eight months in an underground cell. [5]

Dr. Khan told his family that he was accused of treating dying civilians (women and children), which had been classed as an act of terrorism. Dr. Khan worked as a specialist registrar in orthopaedic surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. The Foreign Office said it was "extremely concerned" by reports. [1] [6] [7] [8] [9] In December 2013, the ICRC transported his body from Damascus to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, then back to London, United Kingdom. [10] [11]

In July 2014, two men who had been imprisoned with Dr. Khan in Damascus told the BBC that he had given treatment to other prisoners in jail, and taught them English, and had been positive and strong. He had ultimately been taken away by Intelligence Services, and the men said they believed he was killed because of what he had witnessed - "Abbas saw everything. They killed him for the things he saw. They didn't want anyone to know." [12]

On 27 October 2014, a jury in London found that the Syrian government “deliberately and intentionally killed” Khan. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Caroline Davies (27 December 2013). "Abbas Khan: coroner hears Syrian account of British doctor's death". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "British doctor Abbas Khan unlawfully killed in Syrian prison, jury says". The Guardian. 27 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Shumaillia Dar (27 December 2012). "Abbas Khan - The Tragic Murder of an Innocent Humanitarian". The Huffington Post, England. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Rapidly unravelling: Bashar Assad’s impunity is undermining the fight against Islamic State, economist.com.
  5. ↑ "Abbas Khan: Syrian regime murdered British surgeon, says foreign minister". The Guardian. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "BBC News - Syria prison death: Abbas Khan inquest opened". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  7. ↑ Press Association. "Abbas Khan funeral: family pay tribute to British doctor who died in Syria | World news". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  8. ↑ Catherine Wylie, Charlotte Pamment (2013-12-26). "Dr Abbas Khan funeral: Brother in moving tribute to British doctor found dead in Syrian jail - Home News - UK". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  9. ↑ "BBC News - Syria-death doctor Abbas Khan was 'our star', brother tells funeral". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  10. ↑ "Body of Abbas Khan flown back to UK after death in Syrian jail". The Guardian. 22 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Abbas Khan death: Doctor's family return to the UK". BBC. 22 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Dr Abbas Khan 'did not kill himself' in Syria". BBC News. 7 July 2014.
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