Terrorist Designations of Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 23, 2012

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Today, the Department of State designated Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224. An Indonesia-based group, JAT is responsible for multiple coordinated attacks against innocent civilians, police, and military personnel in Indonesia. These designations coincide with the Department of the Treasury’s designation of three JAT leaders: JAT’s acting Emir Mochammad Achwan, JAT spokesperson Son Hadi bin Muhadjir, and JAT leadership figure Abdul Rosyid Ridho Ba'asyir, involved in recruiting and fundraising activities.

JAT seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, and has carried out numerous attacks on Indonesian Government personnel and civilians in order to achieve this goal. Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, the founder and leader of JAT, and a UN 1267 listed individual, was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2011 for his role in organizing a militant training camp in Aceh. Ba’asyir is also the co-founder and former leader of Jemmah Islamiya (JI), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), which is responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people.

JAT has conducted multiple attacks targeting civilians and Indonesian officials, resulting in the deaths of several Indonesian police. JAT has robbed banks and carried out other illicit activities to fund the purchase of assault weapons, pistols, and bomb-making materials. This past year, on September 25, 2011, a JAT suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a church in Central Java, killing the bomber and wounding dozens. Indonesian police arrested other JAT members in connection with this bombing and uncovered a plot for additional suicide attacks. In April 2011, a suicide bomber carried out an attack at a mosque in West Java that injured dozens of police officers and killed the bomber.

These designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to abandon terrorism. The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against knowingly providing material support or resources to, or engaging in other transactions with JAT, and the freezing of all the organization’s property and interests in property in the United States, or that come from within the United States, or the control of U.S. persons. The Department of State took these actions in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury.

ENDS

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