Dr Abbas Khan family want Syria death case to go to The Hague

The family of a British surgeon killed in a Syrian prison have told the BBC they plan to take the case to the International Criminal Court.

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

An inquest jury found he was unlawfully killed and did not commit suicide as the Syrian authorities claim.

The family said they would continue their fight to identify Dr Khan's killers and bring them to justice.

Dr Khan died days before he was due to be released.

The orthopaedic surgeon from Streatham left his wife and two children to travel to the Syrian city of Aleppo.

He was arrested 48 hours after arriving in the country to work in a field hospital in a rebel-controlled area in November 2012.

He entered without a visa and later told his family he was "accused of treating dying civilians, which has been classed as an act of terrorism".

His sister Sara Khan said: "At the moment, there are individuals who wanted my brother dead and as a family we should be able to find out who these people are and why.

"We want to take this to the International Criminal Court in The Hague and claim compensation from the Syrian authorities.

"It is a very complex case and it is not going to be easy, it might take many years."

Dr Khan's mother, Fatima, travelled to Damascus in July 2013 and visited a number of embassies and prisons before she tracked down her son.

Her efforts to try and bring him home were described as "superhuman" at the inquest.

But Mrs Khan said she had failed as a mother because she could not bring her son home alive.

She said: "I blame myself every day, I could not save my son.

"Nothing can ever bring Abbas back, nothing will ever take away my suffering, but now we need justice.

"We want to see the people responsible punished. We will fight for as long as we need to."

You can hear more on this story on BBC Asian Network, or listen back on the BBC iPlayer.