Sudan Must Face Consequences for Releasing the Convicted Terrorist Who Killed John Granville
John Granville Was a Courageous American Diplomat Who Must Not be Forgotten
On January 30, the government of Sudan released Abdul Raouf Abu Zaid, a terrorist convicted of the 2008 murder of John Granville, an American diplomat and Buffalo native, and Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama, his driver. Idaho’s Jim Risch, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Ranking Member, called it “outrageous” and said that the move “exposed the (Sudanese) regime’s impunity and complicates future US assistance.” The State Department “strongly condemned” the move while calling on Sudan to reverse the decision. But Sudan hasn’t reversed the decision and it appears distressingly likely it will face no consequences for failing to do so.
Mr. Granville, who was 33 at the time, and Mr. Rahama were shot and killed in the early hours of January 1, 2008 by gunmen who ambushed their car as they left a New Year’s Eve party at the British Embassy in Khartoum. Four men, including Mr. Zaid, confessed and admitted they planned to attack another American target the following month. They were convicted of the crime and were sentenced to hang. A fifth man who was convicted of providing the weapons used in the attack was pardoned in 2013 by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The four sentenced to hang escaped from prison through a sewage pipe in June 2010, killing one Sudanese police officer and wounding another in a shootout.
Mr. Zaid was recaptured weeks later, one of his accomplices was killed in Somalia in 2011, and the two other men, Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed and Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhassan Haj Hamad, remain at large[1]. In October 2020, Sudan's former transitional government paid the United States $335 million to settle lawsuits related to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the bombing of the USS Cole, as well as Granville’s killing. Mr. Granville’s mother received $2.5 million.
Sudan was taken off the list of state sponsors of terror (SST), which now has just Cuba, Syria, North Korea, and Iran on it. Mr. Trump heralded the deal as “GREAT news” and claimed that the (then) new government of Sudan was “making great progress.” A year later, that transitional civilian government was deposed in a coup.
In October of last year, USAID released a scathing statement condemning the killing of more than 100 protesters and the “state-sponsored brutality” of the Sudanese regime, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. “Sudan’s security forces have attacked medical personnel treating the injured, shaved men’s hair in public in an attempt to humiliate them, arbitrarily arrested and harassed countless citizens, raped and sexually harassed female protesters, and fired upon protesters with live bullets and tear gas.”
The Sudanese regime may be brutal, but it has cannily elected to normalize relations with Israel. Israel’s Foreign Minister traveled to Khartoum in February and Israel announced it was close to formalizing a deal. The Times of Israel reported the deal would be concluded with a signing ceremony in Washington once Sudan returns to civilian rule. But the country is now embroiled in a civil war, with forces loyal to al-Burhan battling paramilitary troops led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
Alex de Waal, a professor at Tufts University who is a leading expert on Sudan, told me via e-mail prior to the outbreak of the civil conflict that the pending deal with Israel will likely dissuade the U.S. from punishing Sudan over the release of Mr. Zaid.
“The trusting relationship between Netanyahu and al-Burhan was crucial in getting Sudan off the SST list, and …I’m sure that counter-terrorism cooperation will remain undimmed,” he said. “I would expect a demarche from the US but generally speaking the US-Africa policy is so directionless, nothing more than that.”
I didn’t know Mr. Granville but his death impacted me because we apparently had much in common. We are both Buffalo natives, born two years apart, who attended the same high school (Canisius) and later became diplomats. He served overseas in Sudan while I was the State Department’s Desk Office for neighboring Chad. The South Buffalo native was working to implement a 2005 peace agreement between Sudan’s north and south when he died. He was, by all accounts, a talented diplomat who made friends all around this war-torn country. According to a profile in these pages, he met with Sudanese refugees on a visit home to Buffalo in 2005 and many of them came to his funeral.
A friend he made while serving in the Peace Corps in Cameroon eulogized him. "John did not stand from a distance to watch us," he said. "He always, always placed himself in the shoes of the people he worked with.”
I asked the State Department, Senator Risch, a Republican, and Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat who represents Buffalo, if Sudan would face any consequences, such as sanctions, a reduction in aid, or visa bans for those responsible. Rep. Higgins, who called the decision “an insult to John’s memory and a gross miscarriage of justice,” when it happened, never responded despite multiple requests. Senator Risch’s staff would only point me to his earlier tweet. And the State Department repeated its earlier condemnations while stating that it “is actively considering all legally available courses of action in Sudan to ensure that Abu Zaid be held fully accountable.”
As a former diplomat with experience dealing with dictators in the Sahel, I understand the complexities of bilateral relations with dubious regimes in Africa. But I also know that issuing statements of concern to undemocratic regimes that aren’t backed up with actions is meaningless. And the consequences can reverberate well beyond this case. Mr. Zaid is a convicted terrorist who escaped from prison, killing a man in the process. Sudan ought to normalize relations with Israel. But no amount of compensation justifies the release of a terrorist like Mr. Zaid. Until he is re-arrested, no Sudanese officials should be welcomed in Washington, or anywhere else in our country.
Dave Seminara is a writer and former diplomat based in St. Petersburg. He is the author of Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed & the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth.
[1] The State Department has issued a $5 million reward for information leading to their arrest.