SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old Singaporean woman who was planning to go to Syria with her child and marry an Islamic State fighter has been detained without trial, the city-state’s interior ministry said Monday.
Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, who worked at a community nursery, was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
“Izzah was intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child,” the ministry said in a statement, using another name for the Islamic State group.
“She supported ISIS’s use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared ‘caliphate’, and aspired to live in it.”
Izzah became radicalised from 18 after watching propaganda videos from the extremist group, and had formed an extensive network of foreign contacts, including IS militants and supporters, the MHA said, some of whom had been killed in Syria or arrested for terror-related activities.
Since 2015, 14 Singaporeans have been detained under the ISA for radicalisation, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years.
Leave a Comment