VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #0653 1371555
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171555Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3804
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC 0075

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000653 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DOJ FOR NATIONAL SECURITY DIVISION 
DEPT FOR M, P, L, AF, DS, S/USSES, CA AND S/CT 
DEPT FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PTER PGOV SU
SUBJECT:  MAY 13 SESSION OF GRANVILLE/ABBAS MURDER TRIAL 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On May 13, 2009, four U.S. Embassy Foreign 
Service National (FSN) employees from the Regional Security Office, 
Political/Economic and Public Affairs sections attended the trial of 
five Sudanese men accused in the January 1, 2008 murders of USAID 
Officer John Granville and FSN driver Abdelrahman Abbas.  The 
defense called one witness to testify, Captain Mohamed Abdelgadir, a 
former weapons expert in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).  The next 
trial session is scheduled for May 17, 2009 at which time Abdelgadir 
will be cross-examined by the prosecution.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The trial of the five Sudanese men accused of the January 
1, 2008 terrorist murders of USAID Officer John Granville and FSN 
driver Abdelrahman Abbas continued on May 13, 2009.  The prosecution 
was represented by Chair Mohamed Mustafa Musa, Juma Al Wakul 
Al-Asir, and Granville family attorney Taha Ibrahim.  Abbas family 
attorney, Ismail Abu Sugra, was absent.  The defense was represented 
by deputy defense Chair Adil Abdul Ghani, Ahmed Abu Agla, and Wajdi 
Salih.  The defense Chair, Siddiq Kadoda, was not present. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The defense called one witness to testify, Captain Mohamed 
Abdelgadir, a retired weapons expert in the SAF.  Abdelgadir served 
in a military manufacturing corporation for the SAF.  The witness 
requested that the judge instruct journalists not to mention his 
name and profession, but rather only that he is a "weapons expert". 
The defense referenced earlier reports from firearms experts used as 
witnesses for the prosecution and attempted to discredit those 
reports with testimony from Abdelgadir as their weapons expert. 
 
¶4.  (U)  The defense requested that Abdelgadir present to the court 
his examination results from the shooting incident.  Abdelgadir 
explained that the rounds could not have been fired from inside the 
attack vehicle based on his examination of the trajectories of the 
bullets fired.  Based on this assessment and evidentiary 
discrepancies he found between the number of bullet holes and shell 
casings found, Abdelgadir said that in his opinion the crime scene 
had been tampered with, and the forensic methodology used by 
investigators was flawed. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Abdelgadir stated that he conducted his own forensic tests 
of the weapons collected as evidence.  Based on his investigation, 
he testified that casings fired from the weapons held in evidence do 
not match those casings that were found at the scene.  Abdelgadir 
also stated that the shot groupings of 9mm rounds from the crime 
scene indicate that a 9mm pistol was not the weapon used, but was 
instead an automatic weapon.  Based on this data, he suggested that 
evidence is being withheld from the defense. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Abdelgadir attempted to discredit the crime scene sketch 
created during the initial investigation.  He stated that the 
directional arrows were improperly drawn on the sketch and shell 
casings were placed too far from the victims' vehicle, thus 
confusing the investigation.  The judge interrupted his statement, 
and declared that this argument was inconsequential to the 
proceedings. 
 
¶7.  (U)  The defense requested the witness provide information on 
his whereabouts since his first appearance in court.  [Note: 
Abdelgadir had been detained and questioned by the Sudanese National 
Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) following a previous trial 
session.  The witness had not requested permission from the SAF to 
testify as a weapons expert at the trial. End Note]  The defense 
asked the question with the apparent intent of establishing   an 
argument that there had been  witness intimidation.  The judge 
stopped this line of defense questioning, ruling that  it was  not 
relevant. 
 
¶8.  (U)  The next trial date is scheduled for May 17, 2009, when 
Mohamed Abdelgadir will be cross-examined by the prosecution. 
 
ASQUINO