DOJ indicts alleged Maute recruiter

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed charges of inciting to rebellion against a woman who allegedly recruited through social media local and foreign fighters of the Islamic State-inspired  Maute terrorist group that attacked Marawi City last May.

Karen Aizha Hamidon was charged with 295 counts of inciting to rebellion under Article 138 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) before the Taguig City regional trial court.

The DOJ recommended P20,000 bail for each count or a total of P5.9 million for Hamidon’s temporary liberty.

The DOJ indicted the suspect after investigating prosecutors found probable cause in the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The DOJ, however, dismissed the rebellion charge against Hamidon for lack of merit.

In a resolution released yesterday, the DOJ cited evidence submitted by the NBI that Hamidon recruited the Maute fighters through her accounts on social media messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp.

“The respondent’s acts of inciting others to commit rebellion was done by posting messages on social media several times,” read the resolution signed by acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan.

The DOJ dismissed Hamidon’s claim that she was instigated by an NBI agent to post the messages.

During preliminary investigation, the suspect maintained that she was an Islamic missionary who used social media for religious purposes.

Hamidon, a former call center agent and flight attendant, said she had no means to take up arms against the government.

Hamidon is the ex-wife of Singaporean terrorist Muhammad Shamin Mohammed Sidek.

She is also a widow of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, alias Tokboy, leader of the terror group Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP), who was killed by authorities in a shootout in Saranggani last January.

The AKP was tagged in the attack at the Roxas night market in Davao City that killed more than a dozen people in September 2016.

The group was also linked to a failed attempt to bomb the US embassy in Manila last December.

Hamidon was arrested days before President Duterte declared Marawi City liberated from terrorists last October.