Rewards for Justice Announces Reward for Adam Yahiye Gadahn

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has authorized the Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program to pay up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Adam Yahiye Gadahn, a California-born American believed to be a prominent member of the al-Qaeda organization.

Gadahn is suspected of being an integral figure in al-Qaeda media production, producing videos for external and internal propaganda that advocate the killing of U.S. citizens and catastrophic destruction of U.S. property.

Gadahn was part of a 48-minute video aired September 2, on an Islamic insurgent web site. He appeared with Ayman al-Zawahiri urging U.S. soldiers to switch sides in the Iraq and Afghan wars. He appeared unmasked July 7, 2006, on an al-Qaeda tape made public on the Internet denouncing the United States military presence in Iraq and calling for the killing of U.S. civilians. Gadahn is believed to have been a masked speaker on two additional al-Qaeda videos from October 2004 and September 2005.

Rewards for Justice encourages anyone with specific information that may lead to Gadahn’s arrest and/or conviction to contact the RFJ staff via e-mail: RFJ@state.gov or telephone (1-800-877-3927). Additional contact information is at: www.rewardsforjustice.net.

Since its inception, RFJ has paid more than $62 million to over 40 individuals whose information led to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of international terrorist attacks against United States persons or property worldwide, as well as the arrest or conviction of terrorists attempting, committing, conspiring to commit, or aiding and abetting in the commission of such acts. RFJ assures strict confidentiality. Those providing information may also be eligible for relocation with their families.

RFJ played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. RFJ informants provided key information that led the U.S. to Uday and Qusay Hussein. Through RFJ, the Secretary of State has authorized rewards up to $25 million that lead to the arrest or conviction of Usama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri.

RFJ is one of the most valuable U.S. government assets in the fight against international terrorism. Established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533, the Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

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