By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent
An inquest into the death of a British doctor in Syria has found he was unlawfully killed.
Dr Abbas Khan, from south-west London, was arrested in the conflict-hit country in November 2012 whilst volunteering in a hospital.
The married father-of-two had travelled to the rebel-held city of Aleppo to treat injured civilians.
His family campaigned for his release for months before he was found dead on 16 December 2013.
Syrian officials say he committed suicide by hanging himself in a jail cell after 13 months in custody but his family believe he was murdered.
Speaking outside court in London, Dr Khan's brother Afroze said: "We have always maintained he was an innocent man who travelled to Syria for no other reason than to help civilians in the Syrian conflict.
"We have always maintained he was mistreated, maltreated and tortured by the Syrian authorities, and maintained he was murdered by the Syrians.
"Today our position has been vindicated."
When he died, the 32-year-old orthopaedic surgeon was on the verge of being released from prison and being allowed home for Christmas.
During the inquest, the jury heard evidence from Dr Khan's mother Fatima who, the chief coroner Judge Peter Thornton said, had been "extraordinarily persistent" in trying to locate and free her son.
In evidence she explained how she travelled to the capital Damascus alone when she found out her son was being detained on terror charges.
She trawled embassies and prisons with a picture of her son who was working as a surgeon when he was arrested.
When she eventually tracked him down she described how he has a fingernail missing and that his feet were badly burnt.
Outside court, she said: "I regret I couldn't save my son. Everybody lied to me there (Syria). There was no justice system there.
Her lawyer Michael Mansfield said: "The jury uncovered the truth that it was never suicide."
During a two-week hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, the jury heard there was no evidence Dr Khan had gone to Syria to fight.
Judge Thornton said: "It is clear that he wanted to use his medical skills to help others, and that included helping others in conflict-torn Syria."
The coroner had previously said the main issues for the jury to consider were: did Dr Khan take his own life, or was he "forced in some way by his captors to take his own life against his will", or was he "unlawfully killed" by his captors?
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