Why have I never heard of Dr Abbas Khan?

Having recently gotten involved with a human rights charity and volunteering to help out with their work on the Syrian crisis, I soon found myself privileged enough to be given the opportunity to attend a memorial service held in honour of Dr Abbas Khan.

To my shame, I had never heard of Dr Abbas Khan; so given the evident gravitas of the event, I thought it essential I take immediate steps to get clued up on the matter. After reading a single article, I was astonished. How had this story passed me by? Such a shocking series of events, I figured Abbas Khan must have become a household name without me knowing. I must have been channel hopping when his face appeared on the news, or had my eyes transfixed on my iphone when passing by newsstands adorned with his image. There was no way this story would have gone unnoticed.

Whenever I was out, I started asking my friends if they knew of Dr Abbas Khan, assuming to be met with replies of “Oh, I know. Terrible isn’t it?” Or “Yes, the government have shamed themselves with that.” But every enquiry was met with blank response, forcing me to try and prompt a memory from them. “Abbas Khan? British Doctor? Went to Syria? Got tortured and killed? British Government knew all about it but didn’t do anything?” No recollection.

The fact Dr Abbas Khan has not become a household name, is one of national shame.

 

For those of you who haven’t heard of Dr Abbas Khan, and you’re not alone, I’ll provide an idea of his story here, but I urge you to look up more articles on the subject for the full horror of his experience. The Guardian’s first hand account of the plight of Abbas Khan’s indomitable mother, is a particularly astonishing read.

 

Abbas Khan, a 32 year old orthopaedic surgeon from Streatham, South London, headed out to Syria of his own volition, armed with medical kits he’d put together at his own expense, to help those in need of his medical assistance and expertise. The guy had seen people were in trouble and had chosen to do something about it; already acting in a manner above and beyond society’s usual response to a crisis beyond its own doorstep. Not too long after his arrival in Syria, Abbas Khan was arrested by Syrian authorities at a checkpoint and soon found himself landed in Fara’ Philistine prison, notorious for torturing inmates. He shared a 6 by 8ft cell with eight other men. Imagine that for a second, 6ft by 8ft. Stuck in a dark chamber of that size would be enough to inspire claustrophobia if you were afforded the luxury of being in there alone, let alone with 8 other men.

Dr Abbas Khan of London, England was tortured for 8 months, daily. Blindfolded, beaten with rubber pipes, subjected to electric shocks, punched, kicked, burned with cigarettes, had all his finger nails pulled out. Abbas’ weight dropped to 5 stone. A 32 year old man, 5 stone.

All the while, the British government were well aware of Abbas Khan’s nightmare, but chose to do nothing about it. Abbas Khan’s mother, Fatima, had badgered and pressed the prime minister’s office for help but was either ignored or told nothing could be done. In possibly the most shocking of exchanges, when Fatima Khan contacted Sayeeda Warsi, the Senior Minister of State at the Foreign Office, Fatima was told in no uncertain terms by Baroness Warsi that she couldn’t expect anything from the government; upon hearing Fatima’s tears, Warsi told her she should be happy she returned her call, but they couldn’t help. As her son was being tortured in a foreign prison, Fatima Khan was essentially being instructed by Warsi to look on the bright side.

After being snubbed by the government, Fatima Khan had to go to Syria herself, and would shout in the streets pleading for help, which astonishingly got her in contact with a UN representative, the Czech ambassador, a Russian diplomat and many lawyers who helped Fatima find her son.

Dr Abbas Khan was transferred to Addra prison, an improved establishment with light and running water, and most importantly, no torture. Whilst at Addra, Abbas himself wrote a letter to William Hague, pleading for help. Fatima smuggled the note out and sent it to her other children who took it to the media in the hope it would prompt the foreign office into action. Still no word.

It was eventually announced that Abbas Khan was to be released, much to the delight of Abbas and his family. But, rather than releasing Abbas Khan, the Syrian authorities killed him instead.

They reported that he had hung himself in his cell, but this did not ring true of a man who was finally on the verge of seeing his wife, two children and brothers and sisters. Abbas Khan’s family are in no doubt that he was murdered by the Syrian authorities.

 

Upon news of Abbas Khan’s death, the calls from the government finally started to arrive. The Khan family received word from William Hague wanting to help; too late. Even David Cameron wrote a letter to Mrs Khan; too late. It had taken the death of Abbas Khan to finally get a rise out of the British government. As far as Fatima Khan was concerned, it was all too little, too late.

 

So a British Doctor goes to Syria, putting himself in an incredibly vulnerable position to make a difference. Placing the welfare of others ahead of his own. He could have watched on like the rest of us, seen the rolling news of a far off conflict and thought it not worth the trouble of worrying about. Not Abbas Khan; he put himself out there; did what he thought was right; used his skills to save lives. Abbas Khan represented Britain in the most honourable way possible, yet the British government didn’t deem him worthy of protection. Why the hell not? Abbas Khan and his family were let down by their country on a monumental scale.

 

As I say, upon hearing this story, I couldn’t believe I didn’t already know it. Abbas Khan should be a name recognised throughout the country. A British man tortured and killed whilst his country sat back and let it happen. At the memorial service for Abbas Khan, Abbas’ brother gave a speech which hit me and everyone else in the room pretty hard. A phrase he used stuck with me. He said his brother “was killed for being British…but he wasn’t British enough.” Not British enough to be deemed worthy of protection. Now as a middle-class white male, I’m not going to claim I can relate to any kind of discrimination, but one is capable of empathy. Had Abbas been a white guy over in Syria, would the government have been so slow to act? Had he been a white guy, would his plight have received such a lack of media attention? I look at the case of Lee Rigby, a truly awful incident. Ask any passerby in the street who Lee Rigby is, and they’d be able to tell you the full story, and rightly so; it was an horrific event, where a stand up British citizen was robbed of his life, far too soon, in a most inhumane manner. The guy was nothing but good, and represented his country in a way that most wouldn’t.

Now given what I’ve been talking about here; a stand up British citizen, robbed of his life far too soon, in the most inhumane manner. A guy that was nothing but good, and represented his country in a way that most wouldn’t.

This is Abbas Khan, a national hero, and I’ve never heard of him.

And neither had you.

Well now you have; spread the word.