Body of UK doctor who died in Syrian custody returned to Britain for post-mortem

Lebanese Red Cross workers carry the coffin of British doctor Abbas Khan, 32, who was seized by Syrian government troops in November 2012, into the Hotel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013. The circumstances in which Khan, died while in detention in Syria remain in dispute. A senior British official has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad's government of effectively murdering Khan, while the Syrian authorities say the doctor committed suicide and there was no sign of violence or abuse. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Fatima Khan, left, mother of the deceased British doctor Abbas Khan, 32, who was seized by Syrian government troops in November 2012, cries while her son Afroze Khan consoles her as they enter the Hotel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013. The circumstances in which Khan died while in detention in Syria remain in dispute. A senior British official has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad's government of effectively murdering Khan, while the Syrian authorities say the doctor committed suicide and there was no sign of violence or abuse. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

The body of a British doctor who died while in government custody in Syria has been returned to the U.K. for a post-mortem examination.

Abbas Khan, a surgeon from London, died just days before he was apparently due to be released from Syrian government detention. His family says the Syrian government is responsible for his death, and a senior British official has also said Khan was "in effect, murdered."

Syrian authorities say the doctor committed suicide — a notion the family rejects.

The 32-year-old was captured in November last year after he entered Syria to work in a hospital.

A lawyer for Khan's family said the doctor's body was to be transported to a coroner's court in London on Sunday for a post-mortem.