The U.S. Department of State has designated Salah Abdeslam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)’’
This is contained in a media note to reporters from the U.S. State Department on Tuesday. According to the note, the designation is done under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.
The law imposes sanctions and penalties on foreign persons that have committed, or pose a serious risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
It said as a result of this designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Abdeslam has any interest is blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.
It said that the action further notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Abdeslam was actively engaged in terrorism.
“Terrorism designations is one of the ways the United States can expose and isolate organisations and individuals engaged in terrorism, impose serious sanctions on them, “and enable coordinated action across the U.S. government and with our international partners to disrupt the activities of terrorists, including by denying them access to the U.S. financial system and enabling U.S. law enforcement actions,” it stated.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Belgian-born French citizen Abdeslam is an operative for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Abdeslam was captured on March 18, in a police raid in Molenbeek, Belgium, and charged with ‘terrorist murder’ for his role in the Nov. 13, 2015, Paris attacks that killed 130 people, including an American college student, and injured over 350. (NAN)
