The man suspected of killing a Scottish aid worker in Greece has appeared in court in 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.

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.

He made no comment and the case was deferred until Thursday, when it is expected that Ahmadzai will be formally charged.

Homicide with intent is equivalent to a murder charge in Scots law.

Ahmadzai was driven to court in a grey Hyundai i30 with blacked out windows for the hearing.

He was escorted from the court more than an hour later by police officers with their faces covered. He kept his head down as he walked from the building back to the 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.

She arrived in Greece on 26 June and stayed in the Kertasini area of Piraeus until 10 July.

Her body was found in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 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”.

The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife and their child.

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).

He then settled in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, where he met his wife and converted to Christianity.

The couple then set up the charity Love Every Nation Athens to help other refugees.

He won a Greek super lightweight boxing title earlier this year.

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.

He said they were investigating whether Ahmadzai had a key to the apartment Ross was staying in.

The union said it had verified footage appearing to show Ahmadzai carrying a suitcase which is believed to have contained the 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.

Kalliakmanis said Ahmadzai had admitted moving the body but denied murder, claiming he had found Ross dead in the 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”.

He said the police also believed the suspect used the victim’s bank card to make withdrawals totalling “around €10,000”.

Kalliakmanis added that Ahmadzai’s wife had no involvement or prior knowledge of the alleged crime.

Additional reporting by Daphne Toli in Athens