Family says Sudan freed man convicted of killing US diplomat

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sudanese authorities have released a man convicted of the 2008 killing of a U.S. diplomat in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Khartoum, his family said Tuesday. Abdel-Malek would not elaborate but one of the daily newspapers in the country, the Sudani, reported that the Abu Zaid family had paid blood money to the slain driver's family. The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported release of Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist in 2013 by the U.S., and was seeking more information from the authorities in Khartoum. Earlier this month, Abu Zaid's family apologized for the killing of Granville and his driver, saying in a video message: “We, as a family, apologize and acknowledged Abdel-Raouf’s mistake and he already admitted his mistake and expressed his regret and remorse for what has happened.” Three other men were sentenced to death along with Abu Zaid while a fifth man received a two-year sentence for providing the weapons used in the attack.