DOJ junks gun, bomb possession raps vs. suspected ISIS recruiter

The Department of Justice has cleared the Tunisian with alleged ISIS links and his Filipina partner of firearms and explosives possession charges filed by the police against them.

In a resolution dated March 5, the DOJ through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong dismissed for lack of merit the charges against arrested Tunisian Fehmi Lassoued, alias Haytham Abdulhamid Yusof, and Maguindanao native Anabel Moncera Salipada.

According to the complaint filed by the the Philippine National Police-National Capital Region Police Office, Regional Intelligence Division, Regional Police Intelligence Operation Unit, the two were arrested in their apartment in Ermita, Manila on February 16.

Allegedly seized during the operation were a caliber .45 Para Ordnance pistol, ammunition and a magazine and suspected bomb components including four pipes, three capacitors, three light-emitting diodes (LED), two integrated circuits, three battery clips, four pieces of wire, and 11 resistors.

Police also recovered from the suspects two switches, and four electronic devices as well as their passports.

But Lassoued in his counter-affidavit claimed he was not arrested in his apartment, but in Ayala Triangle while he was taking a cigarette break from his Spanish language class.

"I don't own and I don't have in my possession those items allegedly recovered specifically the gun, bullets an the alleged ammunition. I just saw it for the first time during the inquest proceedings...," he said.

"Even if the subject gun, ammunition and other items will be subjected to fingerprint examination, my marks cannot be found there because I never touched it, held it, nor possessed it," he added.

For her part, Salipada also denied the accusation, saying she was sent out of the room at the time authorities searched around it.

Moreover, the DOJ resolution noted that the allegedly recovered pistol was fake.

The DOJ also said the photos of alleged evidence did not include neither the respondents nor the arresting officers, and that the two of the photos of the suspect and the evidence were taken in a place other than their apartment unit.

In addition, that Lassoued and Salipada "underwent medical examination at two different places on two different occasions suggests that they were arrested in separate places at different time."

The police was directed to return the money and mobile phone they confiscated from the respondents during their arrest. —LBG, GMA News