United States Embassy Khartoum, Sudan           (Credit: khartoum.usembassy)

By Gary  Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON  –    The United States expressed “deep concern” over the release of a jihadist convicted of the 2008 murders of USAID employees John Granville and Abdel Rahman Abbas in Sudan.   Abdel-Ra’uf Abuzaid, one of the individuals convicted of the 2008 murders, was released from prison January 30 by the Sudanese government.  Apparently, Abuzaid was released by the country’s high court two years after a financial settlement was reached between the Sudanese government and Granville’s family. Granville and his driver Rahman were gunned down in capital city Khartoum.  In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price blasted the “lack of transparency and honesty from Sudan”  in the way Abuzaid was released. He noted that Abuzaid remains listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2013.

“We are deeply troubled by the lack of transparency in the legal process that resulted in the release of the only individual remaining in custody and by the inaccurate assertion that the release was agreed to by the United States Government as part of the Sudanese government’s settlement of victims’ claims in connection with Sudan’s removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in 2020.We will continue to seek clarity about this decision.”

-US State Department spokesperson Ned Price

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo  /©Diplomatic Times)   State Department Spokesperson Ned Price briefs reporters at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

The Department’s Rewards for Justice program, managed by the Diplomatic Security Service, has a current reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed or Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhassan Haj Hamad, two other individuals responsible for the murders of USAID employees Granville and Abbas.

U.S. Embassy in Sudan Tribute To Granville and Abbas 

Tribute to John Granville (left) and Abdel Rahman Abbas (right) at U.S. embassy in Sudan.  (sd.usembassy.gov)

“Our U.S. Government colleagues, John Granville and Abdel Rahman Abbas Rahama, were killed by gunmen in Khartoum on January 1, 2008. Mr. Granville and Mr. Abbas represented the highest ideals of the United States Government. They were dedicated to bringing peace and stability to Sudan. This is a tribute to them and commemoration of their work to build a better future for Sudan.”    –  U.S. Embassy  Sudan 

Granville, 33, was from Buffalo, New York. He had worked on USAID democracy and governance programs in Sudan for more than three years, helping distribute thousands of solar-powered radios to southern Sudan, a region isolated by more than two decades of war, to inform citizens of their rights and help them prepare for elections. Abbas, 39, was born in Juba, Sudan. He began his USAID career in 2004 as one of the original members of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team for Darfur, Sudan. He was hired as a driver for the USAID/Sudan mission in Khartoum in 2005.