Singapore cancels work permits of two Bangladeshi nationals for extremist posts on social media
David Sun
The Straits Times
July 17, 2026
The work permits of two Bangladeshi workers in Singapore were cancelled after they made extremist postings on social media and were investigated by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in July.
On July 17, ISD told The Straits Times Tayani Md Risad, 25, and Islam Sahedul, 37, have been repatriated to Bangladesh.
An ISD spokeswoman said the pair were separately investigated in July for their extremist postings.
In his posts, Risad expressed support for Bangladeshi radical Islamist writer Shafiur Rahman Farabi, who has incited violence against secular and atheist bloggers.
Farabi is also allegedly linked to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a fundamentalist Islamist group banned by the Bangladeshi government.
As for Sahedul, ISD said he made inflammatory posts on the Israel-Iran conflict, and also posted divisive religious views referring to Muslims who do not want to be governed under Islamic law as infidels.
The duo are not connected to any cases previously announced by the ISD concerning self-radicalised individuals who were dealt with under the Internal Security Act.
The spokeswoman said ISD’s investigations did not find any indication the men intended to conduct any terrorist attacks or were involved in terrorism activities in Singapore.
“However, their extremist and divisive views are inimical to Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious society,” she said.
It is not known what work the pair were doing in Singapore.
Bangladesh news outlets reported the duo were detained when they arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on July 8, with the authorities seizing three phones and three passports from them.
On July 9, the pair were brought to court in Dhaka as the authorities there applied to have them remanded further.
In the application, Bangladesh police said the men admitted to being involved with militant groups while in Singapore, and more time was needed to interrogate them on their links, networks and funding sources.
During the hearing, Risad said he was detained in Singapore over Facebook posts he made in 2023, reported The Business Standard.
He said the posts were about another radical Islamist group, Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh, and their leader.
While granting the application for remand, the judge questioned the men about their involvement in such groups.
He said: “You are remittance warriors. Why did you need to get involved in these matters?”
The term “remittance warriors” refers to those who leave their countries to take on hard labour jobs overseas so they can remit money back home.
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