British doctor's body arrives in UK

LONDON

The British surgeon Abbas Khan's body, who died in Syrian custody earlier this week, arrived in London for post-mortem examination.

The plane carrying Khan's body arrived in London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday and was expected to be transferred to the Coroner's Court in east London's Walthamstow to carry out the tests.

On Saturday, the doctor's body was transferred from Syrian capital Damascus to a hospital in Lebanese capital Beirut, and received by his mother and brother, Fatima and Afroze.

An orthopaedic specialist, Khan, 32, headed to Syria in November last year to provide assistance to the civilians who were injured during the civil war, but he was detained after 48 hours in the north of the country. The doctor had been kept under custody for 13 months in a prison in Damascus, and was expected to be freed on December 21.

Following Khan's death reports, British Foreign Office Minister in charge of the Middle East, Hugh Robertson stressed on Tuesday that they were seeking urgent clarification about what had happened to Dr Khan, and noted but his death was at best extremely suspicious.

Speaking to the BBC, the family's solicitor Nabeel Sheikh stated that the family was hoping the coroner's tests would be completed later or on Monday. He added that the Home Office was organising the process however Scotland Yard was "actively involved" because Mr Khan's death was regarded as suspicious, the BBC reported.

According to a statement from the London Metropolitan police, its Counter Terrorism Command was providing liaison support to the Khan family and would seek to assist the coroner when it was appropriate.

After the death reports of Khan, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad claimed that Khan committed suicide using his pyjamas to hang himself. However, Khan's family stress that Khan was murdered. The family blames Syrian intelligence regarding the death of the doctor.

englishnews@aa.com.tr