By P. Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Three Malaysian men appeared in court Thursday charged with supporting a terrorist group by attempting to travel to the Middle East to support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, local media reported.
Architect Mohd Syafrein Rasid, 26, businessman Mohd Rosmadi Che Daud, 42, and engineer Mohamad Yusoffe Ishak, 26, were arrested by the Malaysian police's counter-terrorism division Sept. 25 before boarding a Qatar Airways flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Istanbul.
They are also facing an alternative charge of attempting to leave the country to provide support to ISIL by entering Syria through Turkey on the same occasion. No plea was recorded.
The three suspects arrived at the court complex heavily guarded by armed policemen and plain-clothes officers.
Judge Aizatul Akmal Maharani set Nov. 30 for the case to be transferred to the High Court.
No bail was granted to the suspects, who were not legally represented and face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Ayob Khan had told The Anadolu Agency that the three men were on a list of suspected militants.
He said a group was working to supply fighters to Syria, and that police were getting close to identifying the person in charge of recruitment.
The detentions bring the total number of ISIL-related arrests in Malaysia since April to 36.
Only few of them have been charged to date, while others are pending investigation.
In August, ISIL-supporting "terrorists" in Malaysia were said to have planned a bombing campaign in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, targeting bars, discos and a brewery, according to The Straits Times, citing official police sources in those countries.
Militants in Malaysia are believed to have strong ties to extremists in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
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