33-year-old radicalised IT engineer latest to be detained under ISA

SINGAPORE — A 33-year-old Singaporean who wanted to undertake armed violence in Syria was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday (Sept 12).

Ahmed Hussein Abdul Kadir Sheik Uduman, who works as an information technology (IT) engineer, had become convinced, by late 2016, that he should fight and die as a martyr for the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS) in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq, the MHA said in a press release.

Since then, the self-radicalised man had “maintained regular contact” with foreign pro-IS individuals on social media, and “tried to influence” some of his foreign online contacts to follow the radical teachings that he had been following.

The MHA did not say if Ahmed had tried to leave Singapore for Syria.

Ahmed’s path to radicalisation started in 2013 when he turned to the Internet for religious knowledge.

Among other things, he followed the lectures of foreign radicals such as Anwar al-Awlaki, the deceased leader of terror group Al-Qaeda, and several others who have been arrested or imprisoned for inciting violence or espousing support for terrorism, MHA said.

Ahmed is the latest among some 90 individuals who had been detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities since 2002. About three-quarters of them had been released.

In the same press statement on Wednesday, MHA announced that Munavar Baig Amina Begam, who was detained last November for supporting IS and was intending to make her way to Syria to join the terrorist group, has been released from detention.

The 39-year-old was issued a suspension direction in July this year as “it was assessed that she no longer posed an imminent security threat that required her to be placed in preventive detention”, MHA said.

However, Amina must abide by several conditions and restrictions. For instance, she is not permitted to change her residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the prior approval of the director of the Internal Security Department (ISD).

She also cannot issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute and contribute to any publication. She also cannot hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group without the prior approval of the ISD director.