Terrorist Designation of Abd Al-Ra'Ouf Abu Zaid Mohamed Hamza
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 3, 2013
The U.S. Department of State has designated Abd Al-Ra’Ouf Abu Zaid Mohamed Hamza under Executive Order 13224, which
targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. As a result of this designation, all
property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Hamza has any interest is blocked and any assets he may have under U.S.
jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him.
Hamza, with three co-conspirators, participated in an armed attack in Khartoum, Sudan on January 1, 2008, which resulted
in the deaths of a U.S. diplomat serving with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), John Michael
Granville, and a locally employed U.S. Embassy staff member, Adbelrahman Abbas Rahama. The attack occurred when
Granville and Abbas were leaving a New Year’s Eve party in Khartoum. Granville worked on democracy and governance
programs for USAID.
The four men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in a Sudanese criminal court in 2009. In 2010, the four men
escaped from a maximum security prison, killing a Sudanese police officer and wounding another in the process. Shortly
thereafter, Hamza was recaptured and is currently in prison in Khartoum. Another escapee was reportedly killed in
Somalia in 2011, and the other two remain fugitives at large. These two fugitives, Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhasan Haj Hamad
and Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed, were designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under E.O. 13224 on
January 8, 2013 and remain at large. The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program has authorized rewards
of up to $5 million each for information leading to the capture of the two fugitives.
In making this designation, the Department seeks to emphasize to the public and, in particular, to the Granville and
Abbas families, our commitment to justice prevailing in this case.
ENDS