SINGAPORE PUTS SELF-RADICALISED 14-YEAR-OLD, EX-CIVIL SERVANT UNDER ISA RESTRICTION ORDERS

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, July 15 (Bernama) -- A 14-year-old male student has become the youngest person issued with Restriction Orders (ROs) under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA).

According to the Internal Security Department (ISD), the unnamed student together with former public servant, An’nadya An’nahari, 33, were the two latest Singaporeans issued with the RO in June and July, respectively.

“The two had been separately self-radicalised online. Their radicalisation came from a common trigger, the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict,” the ISD said in a statement on Monday.

A person issued with RO must abide by several conditions and restrictions, such as not permitted to change his or her residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the approval of the director of the ISD.  

The individual also cannot access the Internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute, contribute to any publication, hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group, without the approval of the director of the ISD.

The ISD said the Secondary Three student aspired to fight for the Black Flag Army (BFA) and was willing to carry out attacks in Singapore on the BFA’s instructions, if he could not travel to Afghanistan to join it. 

He also took steps to prepare himself physically to fight for the BFA and planned to save money by working part-time to fund his travel to Afghanistan, where he believed the BFA would emerge.

The youth was resolved to join the BFA even if the authorities or his family tried to stop him, the ISD said.

He also tried, unsuccessfully, to radicalise several schoolmates through an online chat group.

Meanwhile, An’nadya, a former manager with a statutory board, staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of militant and terrorist organisations. 

She first attracted security interest in May 2021 for online posts which had the potential to incite social disharmony. She later deleted the posts after being advised by the authorities. 

An’nadya, the second public servant to be issued with an ISA order in Singapore, came to attention again in April 2024 for her online activities, which included threats to attack and kill Israelis. An’nadya also called for violence against Singapore.  

In March 2024, one of her male foreign contacts started a new social media channel, intended to spread awareness of the AOR’s military operations and to garner public support.

An’nadya became an administrator of the channel and had encouraged family members and friends to join, but was unsuccessful in recruiting them.

“Her staunch support for the AOR and its violent operations, and her willingness to spread propaganda to promote their causes, render her a security concern,” the ISD said, adding that An’nadya’s close online contact with foreign extremist elements renders her vulnerable to being exploited or recruited for terrorist activities.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, in a door-stop interview on Monday, said the action taken against the two individuals were not because they supported Palestine but because of their support for armed violence.

“Singaporeans are deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza, and rightly so. It is a serious situation. Thousands of innocent lives lost. It is a massive humanitarian crisis affecting the Palestinians.

“But sympathy for any foreign cause cannot mean we can support or allow terrorism,” he said. Transcript of the door-stop interview was shared on the Home Affairs Ministry’s website.

Shanmugam said Singapore will continue to deal with self-radicalisation. 

Commenting on questions that those radicalised are getting younger, the minister said the situation is a global trend.

To date, the ISD has dealt with 13 self-radicalised youths, aged 20 and below, under the ISA since 2015.  

Prior to this, the youngest individual was a then-15-year-old male Singaporean who was detained under the ISA in December 2022.  

The minister also warned that the ISD will take action against anyone in Singapore who supports, promotes, or makes preparations to take up armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise that violence, and regardless of where the violence takes place.

-- BERNAMA