ISD detains Singaporean woman for supporting ISIS terror group
SINGAPORE — The wife of a radicalised man who wanted to travel to Syria to fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group has been detained by the Internal Security Department (ISD).
In a statement on Wednesday (9 June), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said 34-year-old Ruqayyah Ramli, a housewife and former freelance religious teacher, was detained in April.
She is married to Mohd Firdaus Kamal Intdzam, 33, who was repatriated to Malaysia in August last year. In April, he was jailed three years by the Malaysian High Court for possession of terrorism-related propaganda materials.
MHA said Ruqayyah was given a Restriction Order (RO) in August last year after she was found to have been radicalised by Firdaus. "She was willing to accompany him to the conflict zone, where she intended to take care of the family and assist wounded ISIS fighters," said the ministry.
Among other restrictions, Ruqayyah was not allowed to access the Internet or social media without the ISD director's permission.
However, since then, MHA said "there has been an escalation in Ruqayyah’s radical behaviour and involvement in activities prejudicial to Singapore’s security."
"Ruqayyah has refused to make any genuine effort to participate in the rehabilitation programme, and remains entrenched in her radical beliefs. She continues to support ISIS’s violent actions and believes in the use of violence against the perceived enemies of Islam," said the ministry.
"Further, in contravention of her RO condition, she persisted in communicating online with overseas ISIS supporters who were associates of Firdaus," it added.
Updates on former detainees
In its press release on Wednesday, MHA also gave an update on three former Singaporean detainees.
Ahmed Hussein Abdul Kadir Sheik Uduman, 36, was placed on an RO last month, after his release from prison for terrorism-financing offences. The former IT engineer had been detained in August 2018 for supporting ISIS and was jailed in October 2019.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Faishal Mohd Razali, 30, a former parking warden was released from detention on a Suspension Direction last month. He was detained in April 2018 for wanting to pursue armed violence in overseas conflicts, including in Syria.
Kuthubdeen Haja Najumudeen, 38, was also placed on an RO last month. The former money changer wanted to undertake armed jihad in Syria and conducted extensive research online about migrating there, but eventually decided against it.
Haja was also a follower of Sri Lankan radical preacher Zahran Hashim and made three trips to Sri Lanka to visit the latter in 2015 and 2016. He also donated to the preacher and his group. Zahran would later be identified as the mastermind and one of the suicide bombers involved in the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on 21 Apr 2019, which killed more than 250 people and injured 500 others.
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