Sudan: 4 terrorists sentenced to death for the murder of an American

KHARTOUM - A court in Khartoum sentenced Wednesday four terrorists to be hanged for murder in 2008 of a U.S. diplomat and his Sudanese driver.

•     John Granville, 33, who worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and his Sudanese driver Abderrahmane Abbas, 40, were shot dead in their car on 1 January 2008.
  
      The authorities charged five young men of this double murder. In a highly anticipated verdict, Judge Said Ahmed al-Badri of the court in North Khartoum has sentenced four of them to be hanged for their involvement in murders, reported a journalist from AFP.
  
      The fifth member of the group was sentenced to two years in prison simply because he had provided the weapon but not participate in the crime,” said the judge.
  
      This man was in custody since January 2008 and can recover freedom in January 2010.
  
      One of the four sentenced to death is the son of the leader of a peaceful Sudan Muslim group, Ansar al-Sunna, but without political activity related to Wahhabism, a strict form of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia.
  
      According to the American centre SITE specialized in the monitoring of Islamist websites, the double murder was claimed by a group called “Ansar al-Tawhid” - the proponents of the unity (of God) - opposed to the “Christianization” of Sudan, predominantly a Muslim country.
  
      The double murder had deeply shocked the Western community in Khartoum, a city considered one of the safest in Africa.
  
      The United States Embassy has advised its nationals to be discreet in the coming days and avoid the court in North Khartoum, located in the centre of the Sudanese capital, according to a message posted on its website.
  
      “If the court announced verdicts of guilty .... The reaction of male fans (of the convicted) could include demonstrations outside the U.S. embassy and / or other anti-American or anti-Western demonstrations”, warned the Embassy.
  
      A man close to the condemned was killed last week in Khartoum by the Sudanese authorities. “Threats of violent actions against the Sudanese government have been released on a jihadist website, following the death of the alleged extremist Muslim,” said the American Embassy.
  
      “There could be calls for violence against the Sudanese government and / or Western interests during Friday prayers on June 26,” it warned.
  
      Washington has tense relations with Khartoum since the early 90s. Sudan is on the U.S. list of states harbouring terrorists and was imposed in 1997 economic sanctions by the United States.
  
      Despite the dispute, the FBI agents have worked closely with Sudanese authorities in the investigation into the murder of John Granville and his driver.
  
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.