In accordance with paragraph 13 of resolution 1822 (2008) and subsequent related resolutions, the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee makes accessible a narrative summary of reasons for the listing for individuals, groups, undertakings and entities included in the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was listed on 19 July 2011 pursuant to paragraph 4 of resolution 1989 (2011) as being associated with Al-Qaida for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of”, “recruiting for”, or “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” Jemaah Islamiyah (QDe.092) and Al-Qaida (QDe.004).
As of late 2010, Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) (QDe.092) leader who had trained and led JI operatives in South and Southeast Asia since the late 1990s, and provided facilities and other support to Al-Qaida (QDe.004). He is the son of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir (QDi.217), one of the co-founders of JI. In 2005, Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was selected as the leader of JI’s administrative region (wakalah) in central Java, Indonesia. As such, he was responsible for overseeing JI cells and had full knowledge of certain JI operations in Indonesia in 2005 and 2006. He maintained close relations with clandestine elements of JI in 2007. As of mid-2009, he was regarded as a senior JI leader with the ability to instigate violence.
Outside Southeast Asia, Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir served from the late 1990s to 2002 as a leader of JI’s Al-Ghuraba cell in Karachi, Pakistan. A smaller organization modeled after JI, Al-Ghuraba was formed with the approval of Al-Qaida and JI leader Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin (QDi.087), also known as Hambali, to groom the next generation of JI leaders, provide them with training in weapons and explosives, and give them firsthand experience in militant operations. Hambali also planned to make Al-Ghuraba a cover entity to support the travel of JI operatives going to Afghanistan for Al-Qaida training. Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was appointed by Hambali to lead JI’s Al-Ghuraba cell because Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was a recognized figure within JI and Al-Qaida. As the Al-Ghuraba leader, he indoctrinated students to become future JI leaders and instructed that Al-Ghuraba cell members should kill westerners at every opportunity. He also taught them how to carry out a hijacking operation.
While in Pakistan and Afghanistan from the late 1990s to mid-2002, Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir served as JI’s main contact with Al-Qaida and played a key facilitation role for Al-Qaida. He swore an oath of loyalty to Usama bin Laden (deceased) and provided logistical, communications, and media support to Al-Qaida in several instances. He also served as an Al-Qaida conduit for fighters in Pakistan and as an intermediary between Hambali and Al-Qaida, relaying messages between them.
Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir was one of several Al-Qaida members who controlled an Al-Qaida media center in Afghanistan and directed its activities. The media center produced videos and photos for Al-Qaida propaganda. He was also present at a meeting of selected 9/11 hijackers in Afghanistan in May 2001 and likely participated in making the videos of their last wills and testaments. Upon returning to Indonesia in 2002, he continued to provide support for Al-Qaida. As of early 2004, he was reportedly Al-Qaida’s only contact in Southeast Asia. He regularly passed information to a senior Al-Qaida operative known as Abu Talha until at least mid-2004.
Abdul Rahim Ba’asyir has also been involved in JI's outreach to the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) (QDe.118). Sometime after 1999, he was tasked by JI member Aris Sumarsono (QDi.187) to run a madrassa in Pakistan and was encouraged to expand cooperation between JI and LET through this madrassa.