Sharif Ahmadzai, a 26-year-old Afghan man from Afghanistan, appeared in court in Athens, Greece on charges of homicide with intent, robbery, and weapons offences in connection with the death of Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross. The body of Ross was found in a suitcase at an abandoned building on July 18, and police believe she died by asphyxiation. Ahmadzai was driven to court in a grey Hyundai i30 with blacked out windows and made no comment during the private hearing, which was deferred until Thursday when he is expected to be formally charged. Police also suspect that Ahmadzai used Ross's bank card to make withdrawals totalling around €10,000 after her death.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A 26-year-old Afghan boxer named Sharif Ahmadzai has been arrested and appeared in court in Athens, Greece, over the discovery of 38-year-old Scottish woman Elisabeth Jane Ross's body in a suitcase. Ross was reported missing on July 18, and her body was found several days later in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens. Ahmadzai, who is from Afghanistan and had traveled to Greece as a refugee, is accused of homicide with intent, as well as robbery and weapons offences. He faces charges related to stealing more than €10,000 (£8,500) from Ross's bank accounts using her bank cards. It is believed that Ahmadzai met Ross through his charity work in Athens, where he lives with his American wife and child. The case was deferred until Thursday, when it is expected that Ahmadzai will be formally charged.
Written for “Afghan Athlete on Trial Murder” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article presents a balanced account of the events, but there is a slight leaning towards providing context for Ahmadzai's background and charitable work, which may be seen as sympathetic to his character. However, this is not enough to shift the overall score from neutral, as the language used remains objective and factual.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.25 for article 433 · logged 2026-08-05
- Published
The man suspected of killing a Scottish aid worker in Greece has appeared in court in Athens.
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man → publish → Athens
The body of Elisabeth Jane Ross was found in a suitcase at an abandoned building on 18 July, days after she had been reported missing.
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she → find → July
Sharif Ahmadzai, who is 26 and from Afghanistan, was told during the private court hearing that he faces charges of homicide with intent, robbery and weapons offences.
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he → tell → intent
He made no comment and the case was deferred until Thursday, when it is expected that Ahmadzai will be formally charged.
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Ahmadzai → make → Thursday
Ahmadzai was driven to court in a grey Hyundai i30 with blacked out windows for the hearing.
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Ahmadzai → drive → hearing
He was escorted from the court more than an hour later by police officers with their faces covered.
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faces → escort → officers
He kept his head down as he walked from the building back to the car.
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he → keep → car
Police said Ross - who is from Edinburgh and is known to family and friends as Lisa - had been volunteering with a refugee support group based in Athens.
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who → say → Athens
She arrived in Greece on 26 June and stayed in the Kertasini area of Piraeus until 10 July.
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She → arrive → July
Her body was found in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July.
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body → find → July
Police said the coroner's initial report failed to determine a cause of death, but more detailed examinations concluded it was an "obvious criminal act, likely asphyxiation".
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it → say → death
The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife and their child.
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who → understand → wife
After leaving his home country, he travelled to Greece via Iran and Turkey, according to a video telling his story, external which was published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
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which → leave → Societies
He then settled in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, where he met his wife and converted to Christianity.
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he → settle → Christianity
The couple then set up the charity Love Every Nation Athens to help other refugees.
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couple → set → refugees
He won a Greek super lightweight boxing title earlier this year.
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He → win → title
The president of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica, George Kalliakmanis, said it was "possible" Ross and Ahmadzai had crossed paths through charity work.
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Ross → say → work
He said they were investigating whether Ahmadzai had a key to the apartment Ross was staying in.
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Ross → say → apartment
The union said it had verified footage appearing to show Ahmadzai carrying a suitcase which is believed to have contained the body.
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which → say → body
It added that a location sharing app, used by Ahmadzai's wife, showed that the suspect had been at the property in Rethymnou Street where Ross is thought to have died.
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Ross → add → Street
Kalliakmanis said Ahmadzai had admitted moving the body but denied murder, claiming he had found Ross dead in the bathroom.
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he → say → bathroom
The officer said police believed the suspect took the victim's bank card and phone, and "made sure" to send text messages to her family and friends to "make it seem like she was still alive".
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she → say → family
He said the police also believed the suspect used the victim's bank card to make withdrawals totalling "around €10,000".
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suspect → say → 10,000
Kalliakmanis added that Ahmadzai's wife had no involvement or prior knowledge of the alleged crime.
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wife → add → crime
