SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore said Monday it had refused entry to Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law over the weekend as his presence would not be in the city-state’s “national interests.”

The activist, who holds a United Kingdom refugee travel document, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he had been denied entry when he tried to pass immigration after his plane landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport from San Francisco on Saturday.

He said he was sent back on Sunday on a plane to San Francisco.

“Law’s entry into and presence in the country would not be in Singapore’s national interests,” the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told AFP in a statement.

“A visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry into the country. That is what happened with Nathan Law.”

Law had fled from Hong Kong in 2020, and the police there issued a warrant of arrest against him for offenses under their National Security Law, the MHA said.

Upon arrival in Singapore, Law was “referred for questioning, and immigration and security assessment” at the airport, according to the MHA.

“Law was then refused entry. He was placed on the earliest flight back to San Francisco on 28 September 2025,” the ministry added.

Law said he was granted a Singapore visa to attend a “closed-door, invitation-only event” and expected to be allowed in.

“I received the visa around three weeks prior to departure... I submitted all information, including the invitation to the event in the application,” he told AFP.

“I attempted to go through immigration, but I was detained, despite having a valid visa to enter the country.”