COLOMBO — A Sri Lankan court convicted on Friday four men, including a ruling party town council member, of the murder of a British aid worker and the rape of his Russian fiancée and sentenced them to jail with hard labor for 20 years. Khuram Shaikh, a 32-year-old Red Cross worker based in Gaza, was shot and stabbed to death on Dec. 25, 2011, at a hotel while on holiday. His fiancée was beaten unconscious before being sexually assaulted, according to hospital and police records. Colombo High Court sentenced the four, including Sampath Vidanapathirana, a ruling party supporter and head of the council in Tangalle town, where the two were staying, to “rigorous imprisonment” for 20 years. – Reuters
