A surgeon who travelled to Syria to help people affected by the country’s civil war was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury concluded.

Abbas Khan, a father of two from London, died in December last year while being held in custody by Syrian government officials.

The surgeon, who had previously worked at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, was arrested only days after crossing the Turkish border to Syria in November 2012 while on a sabbatical from work in the UK.

The chief coroner, Judge Peter 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."

Dr Khan's brother, Afroze Khan, said: "Twelve months we have waited for this verdict. As a family, we have always maintained that our brother was an innocent man who travelled to Syria for no other reason than helping injured civilians in the conflict.

"We have always maintained that he was mistreated, maltreated and tortured by the Syrian authorities and that he was murdered by the Syrians.

"Today, our position as a family has been vindicated completely. All the allegations against my brother - that he had gone for any other reason - have been disproved today."

Dr Khan's mother said she was grateful to the jury and described him as "angelic".

"There was no justice in Syria like we have British justice here - no court, no justice - otherwise my son would have been released.

"I couldn't save my son. I trusted judges, lawyers and minister but everyone lied to me. They stabbed me in my back."

The family's counsel, Michael Mansfield QC, said it was an important case which laid down a marker and should now go forward to the International Criminal Court.

He added: "What this jury has done is uncover the truth - that it was never suicide."