|
 |
|
Source:
www.mha.gov.sg |
|
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
PRESS RELEASE: FURTHER DETENTIONS, RELEASES & ISSUANCE OF
RESTRICTION ORDERS UNDER THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT |
|
|
Detention of Self-Radicalised Singaporean |
|
There is a troubling new phenomenon today of
individuals who are self-radicalised, independent of direct recruitment
by established terrorist groups. Such cases have been uncovered in
several countries. Singapore has not been immune. |
|
In recent years, ISD has investigated a few
Singaporeans who had become attracted to terrorist and radical ideas
purveyed in the mass media, particularly the Internet. |
|
In Feb 2007, ISD arrested and subsequently
detained one self-radicalised Singaporean under the Internal Security
Act (ISA) ¨C Abdul Basheer s/o Abdul Kader (Abdul Basheer), aged 28. At
the time of his arrest, Abdul Basheer had made specific plans to pursue
¡®militant jihad¡¯ in Afghanistan. |
|
Abdul Basheer studied law at university. He
practised law after graduation and later became a lecturer in an
educational institution. From late 2004, he began developing the mindset
that he had to wage ¡®militant jihad¡¯ in a land where Muslims were under
attack. His views were shaped by the radical discourse that he avidly
looked up on the Internet. |
|
In Oct 2006, Abdul Basheer left Singapore
for a Middle-East country. He planned to live there for two years,
learning Arabic so that he could communicate with ¡®mujahidin¡¯ fighters. |
|
However, within two months, his ¡®militant
jihad¡¯ plans escalated as he became even more deeply influenced by the
extremist propaganda he read on the Internet. By Dec 2006, he had
decided to embark on ¡®militant jihad¡¯ immediately. |
|
At the time of his arrest, he had purchased
an air ticket to Pakistan, where he intended to make contact with a
militant group ¨C the Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) - that could help him train
for ¡®militant jihad¡¯ and to cross over into Afghanistan to fight
alongside the Taliban. |
|
Abdul Basheer enlisted the help of his
friend in Singapore, Muhamad Yassin Khan bin Muhamad Yunos, to
facilitate his plans. He was arrested and repatriated before he could
embark on his violent agenda. |
|
Abdul Basheer was detained under the ISA in
Feb 2007. |
|
Issuance of Restriction Order (RO)
against Muhamad Yassin Khan bin Muhamad Yunos |
|
Yassin Khan, aged 30, a Singaporean, is a
close friend of Abdul Basheer. He was not only fully aware of Abdul
Basheer¡¯s plans to wage ¡®militant jihad¡¯ in Afghanistan, but had
actively abetted it. |
|
At Abdul Basheer¡¯s request, Yassin Khan
tried to facilitate Abdul Basheer¡¯s ¡®militant jihad¡¯ training. He had
also encouraged Abdul Basheer¡¯s ¡®militant jihad¡¯ aspirations by offering
suggestions, like how Abdul Basheer could obtain more funds to finance
his activities. In view of his abetment to violence, Yassin Khan was
issued with an RO in Feb 2007. |
|
JI Terrorist Network |
|
ISD also continued to disrupt the Jemaah
Islamiyah terrorist network (JI). Between Nov 2006 and Apr 2007, 4 more
Singapore JI members were issued with Orders of Detention (ODs) under
the ISA, while a fifth was issued with an RO. Meanwhile, 5 JI detainees
were released on Suspension Directions[1] (SDs) on 1 Jun 2007. |
|
Detention of 4 JI members |
|
The 4 JI members detained under the ISA were
Ishak s/o Mohamed Noohu (Ishak), Mohamed Hussain bin Saynudin (Hussain),
Mohamed Yassin s/o O P Mohamed Nooh (Mohamed Yassin) and Ibrahim bin
Mohd Noor (Ibrahim). |
|
Ishak
was a senior member of the Singapore JI network. He fled Singapore in
Dec 2001 following ISD¡¯s security operation against Singapore JI
members. Ishak had undergone terrorist training in Mindanao and was
involved in various plans by the JI to mount attacks against foreign
targets in Singapore. Most significantly, he was a member of Singapore
JI leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari (detained)¡¯s team that planned to
hijack an airplane in order to crash it into Changi Airport. Ishak was
arrested and detained under the ISA in Nov 2006.
Hussain
was a member of the Singapore JI network. He left Singapore in Aug
2001, prior to the Dec 2001 security operation against the JI network,
to pursue Arabic studies overseas; after the ISD operation, he
deliberately stayed overseas so as to avoid the Singapore authorities.
Hussain had previously undergone terrorist training with the
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) militant group in Pakistan. He had also abetted
a Singaporean (Abdul Basheer s/o Abdul Kader; detained) in the latter¡¯s
¡®militant jihad¡¯ plans. Hussain was arrested and detained under the ISA
in Feb 2007.
Mohamed
Yassin was a member of the Singapore JI network. Similar to Hussain, he
left Singapore in Aug 2001, prior to the Dec 2001 security operation
against the JI network, to pursue Arabic studies overseas; and
deliberately remained overseas in subsequent years so as to avoid the
Singapore authorities. Mohamed Yassin had been involved in fund-raising
for the JI. He had also undergone JI training in Malaysia. Mohamed
Yassin was arrested and detained under the ISA in Feb 2007.
Ibrahim
was a member of the Singapore JI network. He fled Singapore in Dec 2001
following the arrests of Singapore JI members in ISD¡¯s security
operation. Ibrahim was a trained operative. He had conducted terrorist
reconnaissance against local establishments in Singapore. Ibrahim was
arrested and detained under the ISA in Apr 2007. |
|
Restriction Order against one JI member |
|
Jamil bin Ansani was a member of the
Singapore JI network. He fled Singapore in Dec 2001 following the
arrests of Singapore JI members in ISD¡¯s security operation. Jamil had
assisted the JI in some of its operational reconnaissance activities,
but was not a key operative. Jamil was arrested and later issued with an
RO in Mar 2007. |
|
Release of 5 JI detainees |
|
Five JI detainees have been released under
Suspension Direction on 1 Jun 2007. They are Mohamed Noor bin Sulaimi,
Naharudin bin Sabtu, Nordin bin Parman and Syed Ibrahim, who were
detained since Sep 2002, and Mohamed Yassin s/o O P Mohamed Nooh, who
was detained since Feb 2007. They had cooperated with ISD on
investigations into the JI, and had responded positively to
rehabilitation. They are assessed to no longer pose a security threat to
Singapore that warrants preventive detention. |
|
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
8
JUNE 2007 |
|
|
|
More..... |
|
Source:
www.mha.gov.sg Media Release 8
Jun 2007 |
|
 |
|
Important
Notice |
|
Our FrontPage
Editions are a historical record of our Web site and reflect
the changing of the times, and also of our Web site through
time. We do not and will not update the links and stories on
these FrontPages even if they have become obsolete. |
|
FrontPage Edition: Sat 9 June 2007
All rights reserved
