Three JI members released from detention

Three JI members released from detention

Three Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members were released from detention last year after being assessed to determine that they no longer pose a security threat that requires preventive detention, the Ministry of Home Affairs said yesterday.

They were identified as Sahrudin Mohd Sapian, Mohamed Rafee Abdul Rahman and Mohamed Rashid Zainal Abidin.

Sahrudin and Rafee were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in February 2012.

At the time, Sahrudin was described as a pioneer member of the Singapore JI network, and Rafee as having provided logistical support for the regional JI network.

Both were found to have undergone terrorist training in Afghanistan in 2000. After being detained for about two years, Sahrudin and Rafee were released from detention and placed on Restriction Orders (ROs) in February last year.

ROs regulate an individual’s movements, and require him to seek approval when changing jobs, for instance.

The third released JI member, Rashid, who had undergone terrorist training in the southern Philippines, was detained in May 2006.

He was one of the five men involved in a failed 2002 plot to crash a plane into Changi Airport. He was released from detention and placed on RO in May last year.

Separately, ROs against five individuals were allowed to lapse between last June and April this year.

Of the five, four were JI members: Ab Wahab Ahmad, Syed Ibrahim, Ibrahim Mohd Noor and Jahpar Osman. The fifth was a self-radicalised individual, Muhammad Thahir Shaik Dawood.

All five men have been cooperative and responsive to rehabilitation efforts, the ministry said.

There are currently 10 persons in detention under the ISA, and another 19 people on ROs.


This article was first published on May 28, 2015.
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