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SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam High Court Monday freed an Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother after prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against her.
Siti Aisyah had been accused alongside Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam of killing Kim Jong Nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International AirporSHAH ALAM: An Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother was freed Monday after Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against her, in a shock decision a year and a half after she went on trial.
Siti Aisyah smiled as she was ushered through a pack of journalists and into a car outside the court, where she had been on trial alongside Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong for the murder of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Feb 2017.
“I feel happy. I did not know this will happen. I did not expect it,” said Aisyah, who was wearing a red headscarf.
It was a surprise move as the Shah Alam High Court, outside Kuala Lumpur, had been due only to hear Doan’s testimony on Monday. Her lawyers said they were seeking an adjournment.
The women, in their 20s, had always denied murder, saying they believed they were taking part in a prank and were tricked by North Korean agents into carrying out the Cold War-style hit using VX nerve agent.
Their lawyers had presented them as scapegoats, saying that authorities were unable to catch the real killers.
Four North Koreans – formally accused of the murder alongside the women – fled Malaysia shortly after the murder.
The trial, which began in Oct 2017, was due to resume Monday with the defence stage of proceedings after a break of several months.
But at the start of the hearing, prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad requested that the murder charge against Aisyah be withdrawn and that she be given a discharge.
He gave no reason for the request.
More at Court frees Indonesian Siti Aisyah in Kim Jong Nam murder case
Siti Aisyah had been accused alongside Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam of killing Kim Jong Nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International AirporSHAH ALAM: An Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother was freed Monday after Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against her, in a shock decision a year and a half after she went on trial.
Siti Aisyah smiled as she was ushered through a pack of journalists and into a car outside the court, where she had been on trial alongside Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong for the murder of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Feb 2017.
“I feel happy. I did not know this will happen. I did not expect it,” said Aisyah, who was wearing a red headscarf.
It was a surprise move as the Shah Alam High Court, outside Kuala Lumpur, had been due only to hear Doan’s testimony on Monday. Her lawyers said they were seeking an adjournment.
The women, in their 20s, had always denied murder, saying they believed they were taking part in a prank and were tricked by North Korean agents into carrying out the Cold War-style hit using VX nerve agent.
Their lawyers had presented them as scapegoats, saying that authorities were unable to catch the real killers.
Four North Koreans – formally accused of the murder alongside the women – fled Malaysia shortly after the murder.
The trial, which began in Oct 2017, was due to resume Monday with the defence stage of proceedings after a break of several months.
But at the start of the hearing, prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad requested that the murder charge against Aisyah be withdrawn and that she be given a discharge.
He gave no reason for the request.
More at Court frees Indonesian Siti Aisyah in Kim Jong Nam murder case
