Convicted Filipino IS member in Kuwait to get legal help: DFA
A Filipino woman convicted by a Kuwaiti court for joining the Islamic State jihadist group will receive legal aid from the Philippine government as she tries to appeal to a higher court, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the woman will be provided legal assistance since she is a Filipino citizen.
“Our embassy is prepared to extend legal and consular assistance to the overseas Filipino worker and make sure that she gets due process and her rights are not violated,” Jose said in a text message.
The Filipina was handed down a ten-year jail sentence by a Kuwaiti court on Monday. Her husband is a Somali, said Jose in a separate interview over ANC.
News reports said the Filipina, whose name was not revealed, was arrested in August, two months after arriving in Kuwait to work as a domestic helper.
Kuwait officials said she had confessed to being a member of the Islamic State group and of planning to carry out terrorist attacks.
She told investigators her husband, who asked her to come to Kuwait to work as a housemaid, was an active fighter with IS in Libya. DMS
