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| British Family Rebukes Government Over Surgeon’s Death in Syria | British Family Rebukes Government Over Surgeon’s Death in Syria |
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| LONDON — The mutually hostile governments in London and Damascus were locked in a fresh dispute on Wednesday over the death of a British surgeon who died in a Syrian prison earlier this week and whose family has accused British authorities of failing to protect him. | LONDON — The mutually hostile governments in London and Damascus were locked in a fresh dispute on Wednesday over the death of a British surgeon who died in a Syrian prison earlier this week and whose family has accused British authorities of failing to protect him. |
| Britain, which supports the rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, said the death of Dr. Abbas Khan, 32, on Monday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, was “in effect” a murder. But, in remarks broadcast later and on Wednesday, a senior Syrian official said an autopsy had proved that he committed suicide by hanging himself with his pajama bottoms in his cell after being served breakfast. | Britain, which supports the rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, said the death of Dr. Abbas Khan, 32, on Monday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, was “in effect” a murder. But, in remarks broadcast later and on Wednesday, a senior Syrian official said an autopsy had proved that he committed suicide by hanging himself with his pajama bottoms in his cell after being served breakfast. |
| Dr. Khan’s family rejected that version of events as “nonsense.” | Dr. Khan’s family rejected that version of events as “nonsense.” |
| In interviews broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday, the physician’s family accused the Foreign Office of failing to support Dr. Khan or to help obtain his release. “They have treated his case like he’s been some wayward traveler in Dubai being caught drunk, and contravened some trivial law in Syria,” said Shahnawaz Khan, a brother of the surgeon. | In interviews broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday, the physician’s family accused the Foreign Office of failing to support Dr. Khan or to help obtain his release. “They have treated his case like he’s been some wayward traveler in Dubai being caught drunk, and contravened some trivial law in Syria,” said Shahnawaz Khan, a brother of the surgeon. |
| On Wednesday, the Foreign Office said Syrian authorities had confirmed through diplomatic channels that Dr. Khan had died. Responsibility for his death, a statement said, lay with the government in Damascus and “we will be pressing for answers about what happened.” | |
| “We have consistently sought consular access to Dr. Khan and information on his detention, directly and through the Russians, Czechs and others,” the statement said, but those “requests have consistently been ignored.” Britain closed its embassy in Damascus last year and has no diplomatic or consular officials in Syria, officials said. | |
| The death was reported four days before the physician had been expected to fly home. His family and its supporters said Syrian leaders, including Mr. Assad, had approved his release. | The death was reported four days before the physician had been expected to fly home. His family and its supporters said Syrian leaders, including Mr. Assad, had approved his release. |
| Faisal Mekdad, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, said Dr. Khan “committed suicide, that is exactly what happened.” | Faisal Mekdad, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, said Dr. Khan “committed suicide, that is exactly what happened.” |
| In a broadcast interview, he expressed shock that, after being “very well and in good conditions” when breakfast was taken to his him at 7 a.m. on Monday, Dr. Khan was later found hanged in his cell. | |
| The story of his detention began within days of his arrival in November 2012 in the contested northern city of Aleppo to help care for civilians wounded in the civil war. But only this week did efforts to secure his release seem to be nearing success, according to family members and others in the case, who said his mother, Fatima Khan, had spent four months in Damascus pressing for him to be freed. | The story of his detention began within days of his arrival in November 2012 in the contested northern city of Aleppo to help care for civilians wounded in the civil war. But only this week did efforts to secure his release seem to be nearing success, according to family members and others in the case, who said his mother, Fatima Khan, had spent four months in Damascus pressing for him to be freed. |
| Another brother, Afroze Khan, said the Syrian security agency had promised that Dr. Khan would be allowed to return home to Britain this week, but that when his mother went to visit him on Monday, she was told that he had died. “My brother was going to be released at the end of the week,” Mr. Khan told the BBC. “My brother knew that. He was ready to come back home. He was happy and looking forward to being released.” | Another brother, Afroze Khan, said the Syrian security agency had promised that Dr. Khan would be allowed to return home to Britain this week, but that when his mother went to visit him on Monday, she was told that he had died. “My brother was going to be released at the end of the week,” Mr. Khan told the BBC. “My brother knew that. He was ready to come back home. He was happy and looking forward to being released.” |
| George Galloway, a maverick British lawmaker who had been acting as an intermediary for the family and who had been planning to travel to Damascus to escort Dr. Khan home, said the official Syrian version of events “doesn’t hold any water.” | George Galloway, a maverick British lawmaker who had been acting as an intermediary for the family and who had been planning to travel to Damascus to escort Dr. Khan home, said the official Syrian version of events “doesn’t hold any water.” |
| Hugh Robertson, a minister in the British Foreign Office, told the BBC on Tuesday that the surgeon’s death as described by his family would be extremely suspicious and “in effect” a murder. | Hugh Robertson, a minister in the British Foreign Office, told the BBC on Tuesday that the surgeon’s death as described by his family would be extremely suspicious and “in effect” a murder. |
| But, referring to his brother’s death, Shahnawaz Khan told reporters: “It is interesting for the Foreign Office to take that line now. We have been telling them for 13 months that this is a very real possibility.” | But, referring to his brother’s death, Shahnawaz Khan told reporters: “It is interesting for the Foreign Office to take that line now. We have been telling them for 13 months that this is a very real possibility.” |
| “The fact is that this individual was out there helping the humanitarian effort and has been held for 13 months against his will without a charge or a trial or access to a lawyer, and they have offered very little assistance, placated us throughout,” he added. | “The fact is that this individual was out there helping the humanitarian effort and has been held for 13 months against his will without a charge or a trial or access to a lawyer, and they have offered very little assistance, placated us throughout,” he added. |
| When his mother saw him in prison on an earlier occasion, the family said, he weighed around 70 pounds, could hardly walk and said he had been tortured. | When his mother saw him in prison on an earlier occasion, the family said, he weighed around 70 pounds, could hardly walk and said he had been tortured. |
| News of Dr. Khan’s death came as rights activists expressed new alarm over what they said were repeated Syrian military helicopter strikes in Aleppo, first reported on Sunday, in which crews dropped barrels filled with explosives and shrapnel onto rebel-held neighborhoods. Doctors Without Borders, the medical relief organization, added its concern on Tuesday, asserting in a statement that “despite inflicting widespread injuries and damage in civilian-populated areas, the indiscriminate and sustained attacks continued today.” | News of Dr. Khan’s death came as rights activists expressed new alarm over what they said were repeated Syrian military helicopter strikes in Aleppo, first reported on Sunday, in which crews dropped barrels filled with explosives and shrapnel onto rebel-held neighborhoods. Doctors Without Borders, the medical relief organization, added its concern on Tuesday, asserting in a statement that “despite inflicting widespread injuries and damage in civilian-populated areas, the indiscriminate and sustained attacks continued today.” |
| The statement said that more than 100 people had been killed and that “the influx of injured people has overwhelmed the remaining functioning hospitals in Aleppo, leaving them with little to no resources.” | The statement said that more than 100 people had been killed and that “the influx of injured people has overwhelmed the remaining functioning hospitals in Aleppo, leaving them with little to no resources.” |
| Syria’s official news agency, SANA, said nothing about such attacks in its account of fighting in Aleppo on Tuesday, asserting instead that at least seven civilians had been killed by rocket shells and mortar rounds fired by terrorists, the government’s generic term for armed insurgents. | Syria’s official news agency, SANA, said nothing about such attacks in its account of fighting in Aleppo on Tuesday, asserting instead that at least seven civilians had been killed by rocket shells and mortar rounds fired by terrorists, the government’s generic term for armed insurgents. |
| The civil war, now in its third winter, has been particularly perilous for health professionals. In September, the United Nations reported that hospitals, medical personnel and transportation vehicles had been targeted, calling it “one of the most alarming features of the Syrian conflict.” By some estimates, more than 100 doctors have been killed and up to 600 have been jailed. | The civil war, now in its third winter, has been particularly perilous for health professionals. In September, the United Nations reported that hospitals, medical personnel and transportation vehicles had been targeted, calling it “one of the most alarming features of the Syrian conflict.” By some estimates, more than 100 doctors have been killed and up to 600 have been jailed. |
| Dr. Khan went to Syria as its health system was collapsing. In London, he had worked at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, a leading medical institution. British news reports said he had traveled without a visa. | Dr. Khan went to Syria as its health system was collapsing. In London, he had worked at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, a leading medical institution. British news reports said he had traveled without a visa. |
| The Syrian authorities have been profoundly suspicious of foreigners, including several hundred Britons, who have traveled clandestinely to Syria to fight with jihadist groups against Mr. Assad’s forces. Dr. Khan’s family has denied that he had rebel sympathies. | The Syrian authorities have been profoundly suspicious of foreigners, including several hundred Britons, who have traveled clandestinely to Syria to fight with jihadist groups against Mr. Assad’s forces. Dr. Khan’s family has denied that he had rebel sympathies. |
| In neighboring Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, a car bomb was detonated at a military post of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that has aligned itself with Mr. Assad and has sent fighters into Syria to battle the rebels. A Lebanese law enforcement official said that the car had contained more than 100 pounds of explosives, and Lebanon’s National News Agency said there had been an unspecified number of casualties. | In neighboring Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, a car bomb was detonated at a military post of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that has aligned itself with Mr. Assad and has sent fighters into Syria to battle the rebels. A Lebanese law enforcement official said that the car had contained more than 100 pounds of explosives, and Lebanon’s National News Agency said there had been an unspecified number of casualties. |
| Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria has heightened political and sectarian tensions in Lebanon, where the population is sharply divided between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government. | Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria has heightened political and sectarian tensions in Lebanon, where the population is sharply divided between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government. |
Reporting was contributed by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura from London; Anne Barnard and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Lebanon; and Rick Gladstone from New York. | Reporting was contributed by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura from London; Anne Barnard and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Lebanon; and Rick Gladstone from New York. |