Four Bangladeshi workers who allegedly planned attacks linked to the militant Islamic State (IS) group in their own country were sentenced Tuesday to jail terms of up to five years.
Prosecutors said the men, who pleaded guilty, 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 has said the group’s suspected leader, Rahman Mizanur, possessed guides on making weapons and bombs, as well as radical material from IS 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.