A Sudanese court has upheld a death sentence against four Islamists who shot dead a US envoy on 1 January 2008. John Granville, 33, and his Sudanese driver Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama were killed as they returned from a New Year's Eve party in Khartoum. <br/><br/>Under Sudan's Islamic law, the family of a murder victim can request the death penalty for those convicted, forgive them or ask for compensation. Mr. Granville's mother had earlier asked for the death sentence to be passed. <br/><br/>In a letter read out to the Khartoum North court yesterday, Mr. Granville's mother formally demanded the death penalty in order to safeguard the lives of others from those who killed her beloved son. The killing of the US envoy and his driver shocked many people, including the small Western community in Khartoum.<br/>