MANILA, Philippines — The Syrian District Criminal Court has found the employer of slain overseas Filipina worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis guilty of murder, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Monday.
The DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs identified Demafelis’ employer as Syrian national Mouna Ali Hassoun.
The foreign affairs department added that Hassoun’s co-accused, her Lebanese husband Nader Essam Assaf, is also charged with murder in Lebanon.
The remains of the 29-year-old Demafelis were found inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait last February 2018, prompting a deployment ban of OFWs in the Middle East country.
“DFA will continue to provide legal assistance to the family until justice is served,” the foreign affairs department said in a tweet.
The DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs reports that the Syrian District Criminal Court found Mouna Ali Hassoun, accused in the Joana Demafelis case, guilty of murder. DFA will continue to provide legal assistance to the family until justice is served.
— DFA Philippines 🇵🇭 (@DFAPHL) September 9, 2019
Demafelis was found frozen inside her employer's house in Kuwait in Feb 2018. Hassoun's co-accused Lebanese husband, Nader Essam Assaf, is also charged of murder in Lebanon.@teddyboylocsin#DFAinACTION
— DFA Philippines 🇵🇭 (@DFAPHL) September 9, 2019
Quoting the tweet, foreign affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said: “Yup, they’re gonna get it.” /je
Yup, they're gonna get it. https://t.co/ig8lxDL1Xl
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) September 9, 2019