Singapore deports Bangladeshis over anti-France posts inciting violence



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Supporters of Islamist political parties in Dhaka protest on October 28 against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. (AP Image)

SINGAPORE: Singapore deported 15 Bangladeshis for social media posts inciting violence or fueling community unrest in response to recent terror attacks in France, officials said Tuesday.

France is on high alert following jihadist attacks in recent weeks, including the beheading of a teacher who showed his students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and a deadly assault on a Nice church.

President Emmanuel Macron’s defense of the right to publish the cartoons has sparked demonstrations in Muslim-majority countries, including Bangladesh, where tens of thousands took to the streets.

Security agencies in Singapore have been on high alert since early September and, as a result of their investigations, Bangladeshis were deported, the Home Office said.

The individuals, most of whom were construction workers, posted social media posts “inciting violence or fueling community unrest” in response to the attacks in France, the ministry said in a statement.

Officials did not disclose the content of the posts.

Singapore is predominantly ethnic Chinese, but has a sizeable Muslim minority. It has more than 300,000 poorly paid migrant workers, including many from South Asia, working in industries such as construction.

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