Khuram Shaikh: Six accused of Sri Lanka killing
A party colleague of Sri Lanka's president and five other men have appeared in court over the murder of an aid worker on Christmas Day 2011.
Red Cross worker Khuram Shaikh, 32, from Milnrow, Rochdale was shot and stabbed while on holiday.
The men have been accused of offences including murder, possession of unlawful weapons and the gang rape of a woman.
They have been bailed until their next court appearance.
A senior official in the Sri Lankan Attorney General's department said the men would stand trial "very soon".
British officials, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, have previously expressed concern at the slow pace of progress in the case.
Sri Lankan authorities said they are fast-tracking the case by omitting a preliminary inquiry, which is usually held.
According to reports, possible key witnesses have been threatened, which has led the authorities to move the case from the resort town of Tangalle, where one of the accused men is the council leader, to the capital Colombo.
- This story was amended on 22 November after new information about the case became available.