London: A doctor from south London was "killed without any legal justification" in a jail cell in Syria, an inquest jury has said.
The jury at the Royal Courts of Justice said Monday, Abbas Khan, a 32-year-old doctor from Streatham, a district in south London, was deliberately and intentionally killed without any legal justification, Xinhua reported.
Khan, a father of two children, was arrested in Syria 48 hours after he arrived in the country to work in a field hospital in a rebel-controlled area in November 2012, media reported.
He was found dead hanging in a cell in December 2013 while he was in custody in Damascus.
The jury, which had been asked to investigate whether Khan took his own life or was forced to do so by his captors, said he was killed and the cause of his death was unascertained.
"Dr. Khan was deliberately and intentionally killed without any legal justification,” said the jury forewoman.
Reports said Khan's case will be recommended for the International Criminal Court.
"The Foreign Office fully supported the coroner's inquest and we will now consider next steps. Khan's imprisonment without consular access was unacceptable," said Tobias Ellwood, Foreign Office minister for the Middle East.
"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," said the official.
"His family deserve answers and those responsible for Khan's death should be brought to justice," he said.
