The Red Cross has removed a video of an Afghan man accused of murdering a Scottish woman and hiding her body in a suitcase.
Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, is accused of killing Elisabeth-Jane “Lisa” Ross, 38, who was discovered by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens.
Mr Ahmadzai, who converted to Christianity after arriving in Lesbos by dinghy from Afghanistan in 2016, appeared at the Court of First Instance in the Greek capital at about 10.40am in the back of a grey Hyundai car with blacked-out windows.
It has since emerged he assisted the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to produce a film showing how he escaped Afghanistan.
The short film, titled Game of Life: The Story of Sharif, was published on YouTube in December 2016 by the IFRC, with a voiceover describing his six-week journey as “worthy of a Hollywood movie”.
In the four-minute video, the story detailed how Mr Ahmadzai’s father was shot dead in an ambush by Taliban insurgents and his mother and sibling were killed in a suicide-bomb attack.
He was eventually smuggled by traffickers out of Kabul and through Iran and Turkey, before eventually reaching Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.
The IFRC has now confirmed they were removing the film from video platforms in light of the ongoing active court case in Athens.
Sharif Ahmadzai is accused of killing Elisabeth-Jane “Lisa” Ross
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INSTAGRAM/FORCE1.SHOP
A spokesman for the charity said: “Thank you for getting in touch about this extremely distressing story.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Elisabeth-Jane Ross. The video will shortly no longer be publicly accessible.
“We will keep this under review as the court proceedings continue.”
Mr Ahmadzai exercised his right to remain silent when he appeared in court in Athens earlier today, and did not submit a plea to any of the charges.
The derelict building at 7 Evelpidon Street, where the body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross was discovered last month
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His lawyer Christos Erdas said this is because they are waiting for further medical evidence to be submitted to the court.
He told reporters: “The reason for the silence is because we are waiting in the near future for some more documents and evidence to come to the judge.
“All of them are related to medical documents from the doctor who examined Lisa’s body.”
He added the cause of Ms Ross’s death is still yet to be established, and this information is needed before his client will be in a position to submit a plea.
A car carrying the suspect, widely reported to be Sharif Ahmadzai, arrives at the Athens Court House
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Greek police said last week there were no signs of injury or harm on Ms Ross’s body when it was discovered.
They said further tests are being carried out to establish how she died.
Mr Erdas also said they had put in a request for Ms Ross’s own medical records to be obtained from the UK as part of the evidence in the case.
“At the same time we also asked the judge to order the communication with the authorities in Scotland and the UK, to get all the medical papers for Lisa,” he said.
The body of Elizabeth-Jane Ross was found inside a suitcase in a derelict building in Athens | FACEBOOK/ELIZABETH-JANE ROSS
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.
“Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”