Philippines to charge woman for recruiting siege fighters

MANILA: The widow of a slain militant leader will be charged for allegedly using social media to recruit Islamic State sympathisers to join a five-month siege of a southern city, Philippine authorities said.

Hundreds of local and foreign gunmen who had pledged allegiance to IS rampaged through Marawi, the principal Islamic city in the mainly Catholic Philippines, starting in May – sparking the nation’s longest urban war that claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Karen Hamidon faces charges of inciting to rebellion for allegedly urging IS followers to travel to Marawi to fight troops in the nation’s first case of terrorism committed through online networks, senior state prosecutor Peter Ong said.

“(Hamidon) wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously incite(d) others to rise publicly and take arms against the Philippine government,” Ong said in a copy of the charge sheet seen by AFP.

Government investigators conducting undercover work and a forensic examination had accused Hamidon of using messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp, where they said she was “prolific in her recruitment and promotion activities for IS”.

“The Islamic State invites you to join in the Philippines. We note that the door to immigration is open to the cities of Marawi and (the southern region of ) Mindanao,” state investigators quoted Hamidon as saying in a Telegram post.