Malaysia: Indonesian Suspect in Kim Jong Nam Murder Case Released
By Staff, Agencies
An Indonesian woman accused in the 2017 killing of the North Korean leader's half-brother was freed on Monday, as a Malaysian court dropped the murder charge against her in a case that drew suspicions of being a political assassination.
As the court gave its decision, Siti Aisyah, 26, turned to her Vietnamese co-defendant Doan Thi Huong, 30, in the dock and the two women, who had been facing the death penalty together, embraced tearfully.
They stood accused of poisoning Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.
Following the dramatic decision to release Siti Aisyah, a defense lawyer asked for an adjournment in the case against Huong, in order to submit a request that charges be dropped against her too.
Defense lawyers maintained that the women were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents.
Interpol had issued a red notice for four North Koreans who were identified as suspects by Malaysian police and had left the country hours after the murder.
During the trial, the court was shown CCTV footage of two women allegedly assaulting Kim Jong Nam while he prepared to check-in for a flight at Kuala Lumpur's international airport.
Siti Aisyah, who had worked as a masseuse at a hotel in the Malaysian capital, and Huong, who described herself as an actress, had maintained that they believed they had been hired to participate in a reality TV prank show.
Once the court released her, Siti Aisyah wearing a black traditional Malay dress and headscarf, was rushed to the Indonesian embassy, where she spoke briefly with journalists.
"I feel so happy. I did not expect that today I would be released," Siti Aisyah said, adding that she was healthy and had been treated well in prison.
Prosecutors told the court on Monday that they had been instructed to withdraw the charge against Siti Aisyah. No reason was given for the application.
