Four Bangladeshis admit to collecting money for armed jihad

SINGAPORE — More details on the genesis of a clandestine terror cell here set up by Bangladeshis aiming to bring their home country under Islamic State’s (IS) self-declared caliphate were revealed yesterday as four men in the group pleaded guilty to charges of financing a terrorist campaign.

Six of the eight members of the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) — the first all-foreigner terror cell detained under the Internal Security Act here — were accused of gathering around S$1,000 to buy firearms and food for an armed jihad against those who opposed their plan to topple their home government.

With the exception of two of them who are claiming trial to their charges, the remaining four were convicted under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act yesterday — the first time the statute has been invoked since it was enacted in 2002.

The court heard that ISB ringleader Rahman Mizanur, 31, “developed a liking” for IS sometime in 2014 and took a radical turn after a Bangladeshi by the name of Jahangir Alam shared IS propaganda material with him.

Rahman tried to travel to Syria through Turkey and Algeria three times, but failed to get travel visas. So, he decided to set up his own cell.

In January, about a month after he returned here to work as a draftsman in a construction firm, Rahman convinced three of his countrymen working here to support IS by setting up their own terror outfit here, where they pledged allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to the death.

In the next two months, another five Bangladeshi men were roped in to the endeavour, which envisioned waging an armed jihad to destroy those who were against their beliefs. Rahman also made repeated calls for money to purchase the food and arms required to carry out their plans, the court heard.

After about six meetings — typically held at void decks and parks in various parts of Singapore — the group decided to call themselves ISB. They also formalised plans to overthrow the Bangladeshi government, establish an Islamic state there and eventually be part of IS.

The group also put together about S$1,000 from their salaries to fund the campaign. The men, who worked in the construction and marine sectors, earned between S$900 and S$1,800 a month.

During a meeting on March 27, two days before Rahman was arrested, each member was assigned specific responsibilities and false names, and Rahman shared counter-surveillance techniques with them.

The group also drew up a hit list — which included military targets and government officials — and an action plan to launch attacks in Panchagarh district in Bangladesh because of the large Muslim population there.

Even after Rahman was arrested on March 29, the group continued its meetings and operations, with Mamun Leakot Ali, 29, taking over the leadership post. They also transferred fund-keeping responsibilities.

Yesterday, the suspected terrorism financers were brought into the State Courts under tight security, going into the dock two by two and guarded by five Gurkha officers each time.

After pleading guilty, Rahman was convicted of two counts of terrorism financing, with two other similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing. Miah Rubel, 26; Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdager, 30; and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29, also pleaded guilty and were convicted of one count of terrorism financing each.

The four men will be sentenced on June 21. They face up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine of up to S$500,000 for each charge. How their sentences will run in relation to the two-year Detention Order imposed on them will be made clear later.

Zzaman Daulat, 34, who had earlier indicated that he would plead guilty, changed his mind yesterday, claiming he did not know his money would be used to fund terrorist activities.

“I admit to contributing S$200 ... I was not clear that this money will be used for terrorism purposes,” he told the court through a Bengali interpreter.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled on June 9 for Zzaman and Mamun, who said last week that he would contest the charges.

The remaining two ISB members detained under the ISA — Sohag Ibrahim and Islam Shariful, both 27 — were not implicated in these terrorism-financing criminal proceedings.

A ninth member, Hossain Shamin, left the country before investigations began.

This was the second reported case this year of radicalised individuals involving the Bangladeshi community in Singapore.

In January, the Ministry of Home Affairs revealed that 27 Bangladeshi construction workers here were arrested after they were found to be contemplating waging armed jihad overseas.

All of them have been deported.