Singapore authority puts a student and a public servant on restriction orders for supporting terrorists

The radicalisation was triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks against Israel, and occurred after extensively viewing online pro-Hamas content and news, according to media reports on Monday.

By January 2024, the boy regarded Palestinian militant groups like Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades as legitimate defenders of Palestine, and supported their violent acts.

The boy, not identified by the authorities, considered carrying out attacks in Singapore, and started an online chat group, hoping to recruit 60 to 100 people. ISD said he tried to radicalise his schoolmates but failed.

A former public servant An’nadya An’nahari, 33, who was a manager with a statutory board at the point of investigation, staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations, including Hamas and the Houthis, and advocated violence against Israelis and Jews, the ISD said on July 15.

The ISD said both were radicalised online separately from the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which started on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people. Speaking to the media on July 15, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said of the boy: “Worryingly, he is the youngest ISA case today. And you know, it took only a few months for him to be radicalised.

“And he also thought about attacking non-Muslims in Singapore during festivals like Chinese New Year, Christmas, Deepavali, because he considered them un-Islamic.” ISD said the youth’s parents had noticed he was increasingly expressing segregationist beliefs but did not think they warranted intervention and assistance.

The restriction orders mean the two cannot change their residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the ISD director’s approval. They also cannot access the internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings, print, distribute or contribute to any publication, or hold office in or be a member of any organisation, association or group without prior approval.

Previously, the youngest person the ISA had been invoked against was a 15-year-old self-radicalised supporter of terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and ISIS who was detained in December 2022.

The youth believed the October 7 attacks were justified and that those who aim to reclaim Palestinian land – a group he calls the “Zionists” – were enemies to be killed, ISD added.

ISD said he was convinced the end of times would occur in his lifetime, and that it was his obligation as a Muslim to fight for the BFA and die as a martyr.

He embraced segregationist beliefs, including the view that celebrating birthdays and talking to female classmates were forbidden under Islamic law, ISD said.

He prepared himself physically, and planned to save money by working part-time to travel to Afghanistan, where he believed the BFA would emerge, ISD added.

Since 2015, the department has dealt with 13 radicalised people aged 20 and below under the ISA.

The ISD said the two latest cases highlight that overseas conflicts continue to have an impact on Singapore’s domestic threat landscape.

It said the fact that two Singaporeans have already been self-radicalised in the few months following the latest escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict illustrates the radicalising risk foreign extremist narratives can pose to Singapore’s national security and social harmony.

ISD stressed it is critical that Singaporeans not allow extremist narratives surrounding external developments to take root in society, even as they continue to be deeply and rightly concerned with the situation in Gaza.

The boy was issued a restriction order last month, while An’nadya An’nahari was issued one earlier this month. Both became radicalised after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. PTI GS AMS