[Dhaka Tribune] A Singapore court yesterday convicted four Bangladeshi workers for financing terrorism and sentenced them to jail terms varying between two and five years.The four convicted Bangladeshi are Rahman Mizanur, 31; Miah Rubel, 26; Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar, 31; and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29, the Straits Times reported.
Rahman was sentenced to 60 months in jail. Sohel was given 24 months while Miah and Jabath each got 30 months.
Earlier, they were charged with providing or collecting money to fund terrorist acts in Bangladesh.
Prosecutors said the men ‐ who pleaded guilty on May 31 ‐ had contributed part of their salary to buy food, arms and weapons like knives and pistols to launch attacks in Bangladesh. The amounts ranged from 60 Singapore dollars ($42) to 1,360 Singapore dollars ($1,000).
They were part of a group detained in April under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial in cases where public safety is threatened.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore has said the group's suspected leader, Rahman Mizanur, possessed guides on making weapons and bombs, as well as radical material from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group and al-Qaeda that he used to recruit the others.
Rahman, 31, pleaded guilty and was convicted of two charges of financing terrorism by inviting group members to contribute funds and handling the money to facilitate plans.
In sentencing Rahman to five years in jail, District Judge Kessler Soh emphasised that a deterrent sentence and "much stiffer punishment is warranted."
"He was the criminal mastermind. He was the one who started this whole outfit," the judge said.
Rahman was shackled as he arrived in court and looked down when the sentence was passed, surrounded by heavy police guard.
He had earlier addressed the court in English, putting forth a lengthy plea for mitigation. "I wanted to learn my religion. [My friends] showed me the wrong way, the wrong activities," Rahman said. "This is my very big mistake sir. I am very remorseful."
Media reports also said that two other men named Zzaman Daulat, 34, and Mamun Leakot Ali, 29, have denied the charges and are claiming retrial. Their trial dates have not been set.
Those other Bangladeshi men who were detained in April have not been charged and will be dealt with separately, officials have said.
In January, Singapore said it had tossed in the slammer
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
and deported 26 Bangladeshi construction workers for forming a religious study group that spread the ideologies of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Their goal was to set up an Islamic state in Bangladesh and bring it under the self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
However when contacted, the Bangladesh Embassy in Singapore said it was not officially notified about the trial by the Singapore government, but learned about it from media reports.