IS ‘recruiter’ claims NBI framed her

Karen Aizha Hamidon. INQUIRER.net / Ryan Leagogo

The woman accused of recruiting terrorists online for the Islamic State (IS) has sought the dismissal of the rebellion complaint filed against her in the Department of Justice, questioning the legality of her arrest and claiming she was framed by an “undercover agent” of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Karen Aizha Hamidon, who remained in detention following her Oct. 11 arrest in Taguig City, said the NBI failed to provide evidence that it was actually her who posted chatroom messages inviting Muslims abroad to help the Maute terrorist group set up an IS province in the country.

According to the NBI, Hamidon is the widow of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, alias Tokboy, the leader of Ansar Al-Khalifa Philippines who was killed in a gunfight with the police in Sarangani province in January.

She was also formerly married to two suspected foreign terrorists who have been arrested in their respective countries.

Seizing her phones and laptop computers, the NBI last week charged her with rebellion on 296 counts, saying the 32-year-old Muslim convert called on Muslims to join the Maute in its holy war in Marawi, through messages posted on the Telegram and WhatsApp messaging services.

‘Against my will’

In a counteraffidavit filed on Friday, Hamidon claimed she was “cajoled and seduced” by a chatmate named “JA” into “doing things against my will.”

She came to know JA, she said, in September 2016 on Telegram, where JA came across as a murabit or “Muslim soldier” who claimed to be based in Lanao province and who “tried to gain my trust and confidence.”

In one exchange, JA told her that he would send her a portable WiFi and some SIM cards through courier on Oct. 11, she said. When that day came, she was arrested by the NBI.

It was only then that she realized that JA, who used the photo of a British IS fighter killed in Syria in 2015, was an NBI agent, she said.

“It must be well-noted that the respondent was cajoled and seduced into doing several acts by JA,” she said. “In fact, respondent was instructed and told to post messages in Telegram by JA against (my) will…which negates felonious intent.”

“It must be emphasized that the alleged undercover agent has the ill motive and ill will to gain the confidence of the respondent in order to allure (sic) respondent to commit the alleged crime,” Hamidon added.

“(I)n the absence of any evidence of the lawfulness of the actions of the arresting officers, all evidence and items seized and confiscated were obtained in violation of my right against unreasonable search and seizure, thus, the case must be dismissed,” Hamidon stressed.