Singapore issues ISA orders to self-radicalised student and ex-public servant, Israel-Hamas war cited as trigger

SINGAPORE, July 15 — A 14-year-old student aspiring to fight for a prophesised Muslim army and launch attacks in Singapore was among two self-radicalised individuals issued with restriction orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The student was issued the order in June, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said today. He is the youngest individual to date to be issued with an ISA order.

The other is An’nadya An’nahari, a 33-year-old former manager with a statutory board, who received her restriction order in July. This makes her the second public servant to be issued with one.

The two Singaporeans had been separately self-radicalised online, with the ongoing Israel-Hamas being the “common trigger”, ISD said.

The student, who is in Secondary Three, aspired to fight for the Black Flag Army. The Black Flag Army is prophesised to be a Muslim army carrying black flags led by Mahdi, the saviour of Muslims, which will emerge from Khorasan, a historical region covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan and north-east Iran, to engage in a final battle with non-believers during the apocalyptic “End of Times”.

The student also considered carrying out attacks in Singapore.

Meanwhile, An’nadya staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations including Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades (AQB), Hizbollah and the Houthis.

She also advocated violence against Israelis and Jews.

Prior to this, the youngest individual to have received a restriction order was a then-15-year-old male Singaporean who was detained in December 2022.

Those issued with restriction orders cannot travel out of Singapore or access the internet without the approval of ISD’s director, among other conditions.

Tried radicalising schoolmates

The 14-year-old’s radicalisation was triggered by Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel last October, and occurred within a “short span of months” after extensively viewing online pro-Hamas content and news, said ISD.

By January, the youth supported the violent acts of Palestinian militant groups like Hamas, AQB and Al-Quds Brigades, seeing them as “legitimate defenders of Palestine”.

He also believed that Hamas’ attacks on Oct 7, 2023, were justified and that all “Zionists” were enemies to be killed.

Over time, after researching online, the teen became firmly convinced that the End of Times would occur in his lifetime, and it was his obligation as a Muslim to fight for the Black Flag Army and die a martyr.

When he was making preparations to fight for the “army”, the youth also started following segregationist beliefs, for example, that celebrating birthdays and talking to female classmates were forbidden under Islamic law.

He also planned to save money by working part-time to fund his travel to Afghanistan — where he believed the Black Flag Army would emerge — and was resolved to join it even if the authorities or his family tried to stop him, ISD added.

The youth also tried radicalising several schoolmates by trying to recruit them to fight, but was unsuccessful.

Among his attempts was to start an online chat group and invite six of his schoolmates to join. In the chat group, he shared videos and links on armed violence, as well as several videos of himself as a terrorist fighter.

The youth was willing to conduct attacks in Singapore on the Black Flag Army’s instructions if he could not travel to join them. He also aspired to expand the membership of his online chat group to up to 100 people.

Once he had sufficient numbers, he aspired to conduct attacks against non-Muslim communities during major festivals, such as Chinese New Year, Christmas and Deepavali.

He hoped such attacks would instil fear amongst non-Muslims and facilitate the establishment of an Islamic state in Singapore.

ISD added that the youth’s parents had noticed expressions of his increasingly segregationist beliefs but “did not think they warranted intervention and assistance”.

As part of the teen’s rehabilitation programme, he will undergo religious and psychological counselling.

ISD said its officers will also be working closely with his family and school to ensure that he has adequate support to stay on track with his rehabilitation, and that his studies will not be disrupted.

Called for violence against Singapore

The radicalisation of former public servant, An’nadya, started after Hamas’ attacks last October as well.

She had joined several social media groups that shared information on military operations by Hamas and AQB, subsequently becoming aware of the AOR and their military operations.

Despite knowing that they had been designated as terrorist organisations in several jurisdictions, she saw them as resistance fighters. She would identify herself as a Singaporean in pro-AOR social media groups and openly express her support for the AOR and its violent operations.

An’nadya frequently expressed her enmity towards Israel and Jews, and made violent threats against them. She also called for violence against Singapore.

In March, one of her foreign contacts invited her to start a new social media channel to spread awareness of AOR’s military operations. She agreed to become the channel’s administrator.

An’nadya shared the channel’s invite link with her family members and friends to encourage them to join, but was unsuccessful in recruiting them.

Before this, An’nadya briefly appeared on the authorities’ radar due to her May 2021 online posts that “had the potential to incite social disharmony”, ISD said.

It added that she did not exhibit radical inclinations then and had deleted her online posts after being advised by the authorities.

“Despite being advised in 2021 to be mindful of her social media activities, An’nadya did not heed the advice. Instead, she escalated her online activities to the point of participating in radicalisation,” ISD said.

“An’nadya’s staunch support for the AOR and their violent operations, and her willingness to spread propaganda to promote their cause, render her a security concern.”

It added that her close online contact with foreign extremist elements renders her vulnerable to being exploited or recruited for terrorist activities.

‘Those radicalised are getting younger’

The ISD said the latest cases show that overseas conflicts continue to have an impact on Singapore’s domestic threat landscape.

The individuals’ self-radicalisation in the months that followed after Hamas’ attack was illustrative of the radicalising risk that foreign extremist narratives can pose to national security and social harmony.

Speaking to reporters today, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam stressed that sympathy for any foreign cause does not mean supporting or allowing terrorism. “Action was taken against a young boy and An’nadya, not because they supported Palestine... but because of their support for armed violence.

“And in the case of the young boy, he was prepared to engage in armed violence himself.”

ISD also said in its statement that youth radicalisation “continues to be a pressing security concern”.

To this, Shanmugam added that Singapore must continue to deal with self-radicalisation, as with many other places in the world, such as Sydney in Australia and London in the United Kingdom.

In Singapore, 40 self-radicalised Singaporeans have been dealt with under the ISA since 2015, and 13 were aged 20 and under.

“Those radicalised are getting younger. This is a global trend. Anyone, regardless of age, gender, religion or profession, can be radicalised,” he said.

“And ISD will take action against anyone in Singapore who supports, promotes, or makes preparations to take up armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise that violence. And regardless of where the violence takes place.”

Asked why the two individuals were issued with restriction orders instead of being detained, Shanmugam said each case must be looked at individually, and the orders calibrated to deal with the assessed threat.

“To give an analogy, they were on a travellator travelling in one direction. ISD will assess how close they were to their destination and how serious and imminent the threat was. In their assessment, restriction orders were enough to get them off the travellator for the time being.”

The orders imposed broadly include prohibitions on overseas travel, changing residence without informing ISD, and certain restrictions on accessing social media.

“We try to let them continue with their lives as much as possible while moving them away from the path of radicalisation. Hopefully, families and friends will step in to help,” said Shanmugam.

ISD urged the public to remain vigilant against elements that encourage or legitimise acts of terrorism and violent extremism.

Possible signs of radicalisation include:

• Frequently surfing radical websites
• Posting or sharing extremist views on social media platforms, such as expressing support or admiration for terrorists or terrorist groups, as well as the use of violence
• Sharing extremist views with friends and relatives
• Making remarks that promote ill-will or hatred towards people of other races or religions
• Expressing intent to take part in acts of violence overseas or in Singapore
• Inciting others to take part in acts of violence — TODAY