Experts on the use of chemicals for torture will conduct tests on the body of an Indian-origin British orthopaedic surgeon who died in custody in Syria last December.
British authorities’ investigation into the death of Dr Shah Abbas Khan will include further examination of a sample of his hair, a pre-inquest hearing held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London was told today.
The Syrian regime claims the 32-year-old surgeon killed himself but his family have been adamant that he was murdered.
The family’s counsel, Michael Mansfield, told the hearing, “In a scientific context there is a desire by the family to ensure that if this kind of investigation is going to be taken further they would like to seek the further assistance of those experts who might be familiar with the kind of chemicals that are used by states who indulge in torture”.
“The request is obviously a desire to find another expert who has experience on the range of substances that might be used, and also to examine other aspects of this beyond the hair, for example the clothing, and whether the clothing is stained in any way by any chemicals that might have been used.”
Counsel for the inquest, Samantha Leek, gave an update on Scotland Yard’s investigation, and said officers had taken a number of witness statements.
Judge Peter Thornton, the Chief Coroner for England and Wales, said a full jury inquest into Khan’s death will take place later this year with a provisional start date set for October 13.
It will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice and is expected to last two to three weeks.
Khan, a father-of-two from London, was captured in November 2012 in the city of Aleppo after travelling from Turkey to help victims of hospital bombings.
The Syrian authorities say his body was found hanging in a jail cell.