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.
Said Bahaji was listed on 30 September 2002 pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1390 (2002) as being associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf, or in support of” Al-Qaida (QDe.004).
Said Bahaji was a member of a group formed in Hamburg, Germany, in the period between the summer of 1999 and 11 September 2001 that aimed to commit terrorist acts against Western countries, in particular against the United States of America. Members of the group included Mohamed el Amir Awad Elsayed Atta, Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashed Alshehhi and Ziad Samir Jarrah, who conducted and died in terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States of America, and Ramzi Mohamed Abdullah Binalshibh (QDi.081), Zakarya Essabar (QDi.083) and Mounir el Motassadeq (QDi.082).
By November 1999, a structured group emerged under the leadership of Atta comprising also the persons referred to above; the members of this group were willing to launch attacks particularly against “Americans and Jews”. The members of the group resolved to undertake initial steps towards planning and executing attacks. Subsequent to attending Al-Qaida (QDe.004) camps in Afghanistan, where they sought military training, they intended to commit major attacks involving explosives.
In line with their plans and between mid-November 1999 and the beginning of December 1999, Atta, Alshehhi, Binalshibh and Jarrah traveled via Pakistan to an Al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan. Within Al-Qaida plans had already been made to commit attacks in the United States of America using airplanes as weapons. Within a short space of time, Atta, Alshehhi, Jarrah and Binalshibh were recruited by Usama bin Laden (deceased) and other Al-Qaida leaders to take part as pilots in these attacks. They returned to Germany at the beginning of 2000 and began to prepare for the attacks to take place on 11 September 2001.
Said Bahaji provided assistance to Al-Qaida for the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States of America. Said Bahaji, together with Atta and Binalshibh, rented an apartment that served as the initial operational base for the group. El Motassadeq, Essabar and Jarrah were present at the meetings held in that apartment. Alshehhi also lived there for some time.
During the absence of the other members, Said Bahaji and El Motassadeq acted as leaders of the terrorist organization in Hamburg sharing the tasks of those who were absent and cooperating closely. Furthermore, Said Bahaji helped Binalshibh in his attempts to obtain an entry visa for the United States of America in order to undergo training as a pilot there together with Jarrah. Said Bahaji helped Binalshibh to produce a forged bank account statement from the Bank of Yemen, showing Binalshibh as the holder of a bank account with a high credit balance. Binalshibh submitted this document with his visa application on 15 September 2000 to the United States authorities in order to appear affluent and by doing so to obtain entry to the United States of America.
After Said Bahaji had received a short message by telephone (SMS) from Mohamed Atta on 16 July 2001, in which Atta issued a concealed warning from which Said Bahaji was supposed to infer that the attacks were imminent and that he should leave the West, he fled from Germany on 3 September 2001, by agreement with Binalshibh and Essabar, and went to an Al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.
The authorities of Germany issued an arrest warrant for Said Bahaji on 21 September 2001 charging him, amongst other things, with murder and manslaughter.