Singapore deports two Bangladeshi workers over extremist social media posts
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Singapore authorities have revoked the work permits of two Bangladeshi nationals and deported them following an internal security investigation into their online propagation of extremist views. The Internal Security Department (ISD) confirmed to The Straits Times that Rishad Tayani, 25, and Sahedul Islam, 37, were repatriated in July after investigators concluded that their social media activities posed a threat to the nation’s social cohesion.
The investigation revealed that the two men, both employed in Singapore’s construction sector, had utilized social media to promote radical content. According to the ISD, Tayani had publicly voiced support for Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a controversial Bangladeshi writer accused of inciting violence against secular bloggers and maintaining ties with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an organization banned by the Bangladeshi government. Meanwhile, Islam was found to have posted inflammatory material regarding the Israel-Iran conflict and utilized religious rhetoric to label Muslims who opposed his interpretation of Islamic law as “infidels.”
বিজ্ঞাপন
While investigators found no evidence that the two men were planning attacks within Singapore or were involved in coordinated terrorist activities, the ISD emphasized that their divisive rhetoric was deemed incompatible with the city-state’s multi-racial and multi-religious societal fabric.
Upon their arrival at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on July 8, the men were detained by Bangladeshi authorities. During subsequent court proceedings on July 9, police sought a remand for further interrogation, citing the men’s alleged admissions regarding their ties to militant networks while residing abroad. During the hearing, Tayani reportedly admitted to writing about Farabi on Facebook, prompting a stern rebuke from the presiding judge, who questioned why the migrant workers—described as “remittance warriors”—would jeopardize their employment to engage with extremist ideologies.
বিজ্ঞাপন
This incident marks the latest in a series of security actions involving foreign workers in Singapore. The nation has maintained a rigorous stance against radicalization within its migrant labor force, having previously deported individuals linked to international terror groups such as the Islamic State. Notable past cases include the 2016 detention of eight Bangladeshi nationals who had formed a clandestine group called the “Islamic State in Bangladesh” and were found in possession of materials related to bomb-making, as well as the 2015 arrest of 27 Bangladeshi workers who had organized a jihadist cell.
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