KHARTOUM: The trial of five Sudanese accused of killing a US diplomat was postponed yesterday upon a request from defense lawyers who complained of an overcrowded venue.
The trial, which opened two weeks ago, has yet to move beyond procedural stages. The five defendants are accused of killing John Granville, 33, and his Sudanese driver in the early hours of New Year’s Day on the streets in this Sudanese capital.
It was the first time an American has been killed in Sudan since 1973.
The brazen shooting caused jitters among the foreign community in Sudan, particularly when a previously unknown group called Ansar Al-Tawhid took responsibility for the killing in a chatroom of a militant website. The claim couldn’t be verified and Sudanese officials had insisted it wasn’t a terror attack.
But on Sunday, prosecutor Mohammed Al-Mustafa said the five had acted out of “religious zeal.” He, however, said Granville was not the target, but that the group was looking for a Western target during New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“They roamed Khartoum, passing by many potential targets and found that the places expected to be crowded or to have celebrations were closed or empty,” Al-Mustafa told the court. Granville’s shooting was “only coincidental.” Granville was being driven home at about 4 a.m. when another vehicle cut off his car and opened fire before fleeing the scene. His driver was immediately killed.
Granville, who was hit by five bullets, initially survived, before succumbing to his wounds after surgery.
Heavy security
Al-Mustafa said the five were “lured by the devil,” prompting a defendant from the dock to shout: “May God make you ugly.” The five defendants, which include a former army officer and the son of a radical preacher, appeared shackled hand and foot amid heavy security. Their ages ranged from 23 and 35.
Journalists, relatives and diplomats from the US Embassy packed the small room. A few family members were able to speak to the heavily guarded defendants. The lawyers complained that the small courtroom did not allow for all the relatives to attend the trial.
Judge Said Ahmed Al-Badri agreed to move the trial to another hall and adjourned the session to Sept. 11.
A US Embassy official read a statement saying that Granville’s family is in the process of naming a Sudanese attorney to take part in the trial procedures.
Granville was working with the US Agency for International Development to implement a 2005 peace agreement between Sudan’s north and south that ended more than two decades of civil war. Outside the courtroom crowds chanted “Down, Down USA” and “Down, Down CIA.”
