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Abbas Khan: Tragedy Despite 'Superhuman' Efforts

Abbas Khan: Tragedy Despite 'Superhuman' Efforts

Dr Abbas Khan's story is tragic, but the inquest also revealed the extreme lengths a mother will go to in an effort to save her son.

Working with her children back in Britain, Fatima Khan managed to persuade politicians, businessmen and complete strangers to help her.

Throughout the inquest , witnesses described her as "superhuman", "extraordinarily persistent" and "the bravest woman I've ever met".

When her son disappeared she travelled alone to Syria where, without speaking a word of Arabic, she managed to find out which prison in Damascus was holding him.

Armed with a suitcase full of chocolates, she travelled the war-torn city looking for her son. She felt the shake of bombs going off and had shots fired at her taxi as she navigated the dangerous streets.

Mrs Khan went from embassy to embassy and prison to prison with a picture of her son.

When she had found out which prison Abbas was in, she charmed guards and officials into letting her see him on a regular basis - while for months she worked on getting him released.

Not wanting to rely on one rescue operation, at one stage Fatima had three separate plans working at the same time.

One plan involved a delegation of three Lords and two MPs travelling to Syria to bring Dr Khan home.

Another involved MP George Galloway collecting the doctor on his own.

The final plan, fronted by former BNP leader Nick Griffin was claimed to have been personally agreed by President Assad himself.

It would have seen Dr Khan released from detention in order to undergo a public "deradicalisation programme".

In the end none of Fatima's efforts saved her son's life but the coroner agreed that Fatima and her children did all they could to try.

Speaking from the witness stand, the distraught mother put it simply: "I felt scared, but my son was here so I had to be brave."