Abdelraouf Abuzeid, a Sudanese man convicted in the 2008 murder of American diplomat John Granville in Khartoum, made amends to Granville’s family and abandoned extremism after being freed earlier this week, Abuzeid told Reuters on Friday.

According to Abuzeid’s brother, who spoke to Reuters on Monday, the release authorized by Sudan’s high court is predicated on a multimillion-dollar 2020 settlement between Sudan and victims of attacks like the one that murdered Granville.

The United States on Thursday called on the Sudanese government to use all available legal means to reverse the decision and State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the assertion of a U.S. agreement to the release inaccurate.

Granville’s mother, Jane Granville, said on Wednesday that she was horrified by hearing of Abuzeid’s release.

“In no way did (the settlement) say that that money was going to release any of these men that killed John,” Jane Granville said in an interview. “I never would’ve accepted it if that was part of it.”

Abuzeid on Friday apologized to “Granville’s family, his mother and to the American and Sudanese people over what happened.”

“I left all extreme thoughts behind me after deep intellectual reviews, and I no longer belong to any organization or group,” he said.