Hearing at Royal Courts of Justice hears of 'off the record' accounts from Syria detailing British doctor's alleged murder

The family of a British doctor who died while in custody in Syria received assurances from sources in the country that he did not take his own life, a pre-inquest review hearing has heard.

The Syrian regime has said that Dr Abbas Khan, a 32-year-old orthopaedic surgeon who was pronounced dead on 17 December, took his own life. His family is adamant he was murdered.

The family's counsel, Michael Mansfield QC, told a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that Khan's mother, Fatima, and sister Sara attended a peace conference in Syria, where they had discussions with people who were prepared to speak "off the record". "They went in order to see if they could find out anything for themselves," he said.

According to Mansfield, "as far as some people are concerned in Syria, Dr Abbas Khan did not commit suicide". The Syrian authorities were not interested in speaking to them.

Khan, a father of two from London, was captured in November 2012 in the city of Aleppo. He had travelled from Turkey to help victims of hospital bombings.

His body arrived at Heathrow airport on 22 December and underwent a CT scan and postmortem examination by British doctors at Romford mortuary the next day. A report has not yet been finalised. The investigations were "still at an early stage", counsel for the inquest Samantha Leek QC said.

A previous hearing held at Walthamstow coroners court in December heard that the Syrian authorities had told Chief Inspector Grant Mallon that Khan's body had been found hanging in a prison cell. Mallon told the hearing that Syrian doctors had performed a non-invasive postmortem examination and determined the cause of death was "asphyxiation by hanging", finding "no traces of violence or torture".

The east London coroner transferred the case to the high court in London.

Mansfield said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was notified of Khan's detention in November 2012, was required to "answer some questions". He said that while it advised people against going to Syria, there may be an arguable case for suggesting that this "doesn't absolve" it of all responsibility.

The hearing was also told that the Syrian authorities had not responded to requests for photographs of the scene where Khan allegedly took his own life. Mansfield said that even if they do not have photographs of the alleged suicide, then photographs of the scene would be helpful. He also said any CCTV footage should be disclosed.

Khan's mother had been told by an adviser to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that her son would be released, Mansfield said. The family had been told that a release order existed. Mansfield asked why a man who believed he was going to be released would kill himself.

But Mansfield suggested Khan was being used "as a pawn in a different game". He had been moved from a civilian prison to the country's intelligence HQ, leading Mansfield to question whether there was a disagreement among Syrian authorities about the fate of Khan.

Khan is survived by his wife, Hanna, 30, son, Abdullah, six, and daughter, Rurayya, seven. Nabeel Sheikh, the Khan family solicitor, said: "This inquest has a wider public importance and the family hope that the inquest will give them answers to the death of Dr Abbas Khan and achieve justice for him."

The next pre-inquest review hearing will take place at the Royal Courts of Justice on 9 May.