NBI arrests suspected recruiter of foreigners, locals for ISIS

October 18, 2017

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Wednesday said it has arrested a suspect for recruiting foreign fighters to come to the Philippines for terrorist acts and inciting rebellion through the use of the internet and social media.

In a statement, NBI Director Dante Gierran said the suspect is 36-year old  Karen Aizha Hamidon, who was arrested on October 11 in her home in Taguig City by operatives of NBI counter terrorism division through a search warrant.

Hamidon was charged before the Department of Justice for 14 counts of violation of Article 318 (Inciting a Rebellion or Insurrection) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, in relation to Section 6 of R.A. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).

Another rebellion related charges will be filed against her using the 296 posts that were retrieved from her cellphone.

Gierran said Hamidon, wife of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid who is former leader of the Ansar Khalifa Philippines, has been a person of interest to authorities in mid-2016 when she allegedly recruited several Indian nations to come to the Philippines and join radical Islamic extremist groups in Mindanao.

Ansar Khalifa, with the Maute Group, was responsible for the Davao City night market bombing as well as the failed attempt to bomb the US Embassy in December 2016, the NBI said.

Gierran said Hamidon is the former wife of  Muhammad Shamin Mohammed Sidek, a Singaporean national detained for his links with ISIS.

“Subject Hamidon is also under investigation by other foreign intelligence agencies for her possible links to international terrorist financing and her spreading radical Islamic propaganda”, Gierran added.

The NBI said on October 11 Hamidon posted on various public groups in social media application “Telegram” statements calling on Muslims to come to the Philippines and join the fight against the government forces in Marawi City in order to establish a province of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The NBI counter-terrorism division obtained a search warrant resulting in the arrest of Hamidon and seizure of cellphones, laptops, tablets and other electronic devices being used for her illegal online activities. After forensic examinations on her cellphone, an additional 296 posts of the same message promoting rebellion in Marawi City were discovered. DMS