Several updates on individuals who have been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) were released to the public by the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 6.

Singaporean arrested under ISA in August 2016

Asrul bin Alias, a 33-year-old Singaporean, was arrested in August 2016 under the ISA for supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in terrorism-related activities.

Asrul had started perusing pro-ISIS propaganda online in 2014 and began posting such materials on social media. At his friends and family's urging, he stopped sharing pro-ISIS propaganda online in 2015. However, he still remained supportive of ISIS.

Shortly after his arrest, Asrul was issued a two-year Restriction Order by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

According to recent MHA figures, Asrul is the 14th Singaporean to be arrested under the ISA. He is the 6th to be released on Restrictive Orders. The eight others were detained instead. From January 2015 to August 2016, 13 Singaporeans were arrested under the ISA.

An RO imposes several restrictions and conditions onto individuals who are issued with it. All individuals under an RO must obtain the prior approval of the Internal Security Department's Director should they wish to perform any of the restricted actions.

The restrictions under an RO include:

-No change in residence or employment.

-No travelling out of Singapore.

-No public statements or meetings.

-No contributing to or distributing publications.

-No joining associations or organisations.

Release of ISA detainee who had participated in armed conflict 

Another Singaporean, Mohammad Razif bin Yahya, who was detained in August 2015  was released this month after he was assessed to be no longer a security threat. He was previously detained for voluntarily participating in armed conflict in Yemen.

Cancellation of Orders of Detention for Bangladeshi workers

Eight Bangladeshi workers who were detained in April 2016 for their involvement in the Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB) also had their Orders of Detention (OD) cancelled.

Six of the detainees were convicted of terrorism financing and sentenced to between 2 to 5 years' imprisonment. Investigations into the remaining two have been completed and they have been repatriated back to Bangladesh.

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Top photo from Al Jazeera

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