(CNN) -- Abbas Khan's family had been preparing for a homecoming in Britain after learning that Syria's government was going to release him. The 32-year-old orthopedic surgeon was arrested for entering Syria without a visa more than a year ago after volunteering to treat wounded victims of that country's civil war. After his mother personally pleaded with top Syrian officials to free him, they appeared to have relented. A member of the House of Commons, George Galloway, was planning to fly to Damascus to bring him home on Friday. Instead, his family was told that Khan was dead by his own hand, found hanging in his cell -- a report his brother called "absolute slander" Tuesday.
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British doctor's brother calls suicide report "absolute slander"
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Abbas Khan had been expected to return to Britain by Christmas
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He had been held since November 2012 for entering Syria without a visa
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There was no immediate comment on Khan's death from @placeholder government agencies.