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SINGAPORE – Authorities investigated 37 people and deported 16 foreigners as part of intensified security efforts in the wake of terrorist attacks in France and elsewhere.
A 26-year-old radicalized Bangladeshi construction worker was also arrested under the Internal Security Act on November 2 for terrorism-related activities, the Home Office (MHA) announced on Tuesday (November 24).
The 14 Singaporeans and 23 foreigners investigated had come to the attention of the authorities for suspicions of radical leanings or for making comments that incite violence or fuel community unrest.
In particular, most had supported the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty and subsequent attacks in France and elsewhere, among other things, the MHA said.
They had also incited violence against France or French President Emmanuel Macron in retaliation for the French government’s defense of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Some had made disparaging comments against Muslims, the MHA said.
The 16 foreigners, 15 Bangladeshis and one Malaysian, were repatriated after the Department of Homeland Security completed investigations into them.
The Malaysian was found to be radicalized and intended to travel to Syria or Palestine to engage in gun violence.
Most of the 15 Bangladeshis worked in the construction industry. The MHA said that, in response to recent terrorist attacks in France, they made social media posts that incited violence or fueled communal unrest.
“Investigations into the remaining seven foreigners are still ongoing,” the ministry said.
He added that while a handful of those investigated had commented on the same discussion threads on social media, most of the cases are not connected to each other.
“To date, there is no indication that any of these people have been planning attacks or protests in Singapore,” the MHA said.
Meanwhile, investigations are being carried out on the 14 Singaporeans: 10 men and four women between the ages of 19 and 62.
Speaking at a Religious Rehabilitation Group seminar on Tuesday (Nov 24), Minister of Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said that while Singapore and France are secular, and both guarantee freedom of religion, the approaches taken are different. .
“France says it prefers to achieve this by taking a hands-off approach, we are interventionists. We intervene. Because we take the position that the right to speak freely goes with the duty to act responsibly. The two must go together.
“As a secular government, we are neutral in the treatment of all religions. But we also do not allow any religious group to be attacked or insulted by anyone else, whether majority or minority, the same rules,” he told the audience at the Khadija Mosque . in Geylang.
Singapore also guarantees freedom of religion, the right of anyone to practice their religious beliefs, and the country protects everyone from any threat, hate speech or violence, he said.
“That is the security you get in Singapore. It is also what we must do to preserve racial and religious harmony in Singapore.
“And therefore, Charlie Hebdo-style cartoons will not be allowed in Singapore, be it about Catholicism, Protestants, Islam or Hindus,” the minister added.
A Russian-Muslim refugee 18 killed Paty, 47, in a Paris suburb last month, after the teacher showed them his teenage students a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for a lesson on freedom of expression.
Charlie Hebdo had republished the cartoons, viewed by many Muslims as blasphemy, on September 1, five years after their offices were targeted by a high-profile attack by gunmen that killed 12 and wounded 11 others.
The MHA took note of the series of terrorist attacks in France since the new publication, including the beheading of Mr. Paty.
There have also been attacks elsewhere, such as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Vienna in Austria, indicating a greater threat to French or Western interests outside of France.
“In addition, a palpable anti-French climate has developed in several countries, as seen in large protests and calls for a boycott, as well as a spike in terrorist rhetoric online,” the MHA said.
In light of this deteriorating security situation, the local team has been on an intensified security alert since early September and has stepped up security measures to prevent copycat attacks in Singapore.
Police and the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority have strengthened their security measures and patrols, he said.
While the detained Bangladeshi, Ahmed Faysal, is not linked to the incidents in France, preliminary ISD investigations found that he was radicalized and harbored intent to engage in armed violence in support of his religion, the MHA said.
He wanted to travel to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and another militant group, and he bought folding knives in Singapore that he claimed he would use for attacks in Bangladesh. He had also viewed firearm related videos online.
So far, there is no indication that Faysal intended to carry out acts of violence in Singapore, the MHA said.
When asked by journalists if recent investigations had uncovered any threats to Singapore, Shanmugam noted that Faysal was collecting weapons, planning attacks in Bangladesh and fomenting radicalism.
“You can figure it out yourself; if he finds out that he can’t go back to Bangladesh right away, could he have decided one day to just attack people in Singapore?
“It’s a very easy change. His propaganda, his call for others to attack people of other faiths, that could have influenced other people as well,” he said, adding that was the reason why Faysal was detained.
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