Kim Jong Nam killing: Woman freed after murder charge dropped

An Indonesian woman held for two years on suspicion of killing Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of the leader of North Korea, has been freed.

Siti Aisyah was accused of smearing VX nerve agent on the face of Kim Jong Nam at an airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur in February 2017.

Ms Aisyah – accused alongside Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong – was discharged after prosecutors asked to withdraw the charge against her.

She was quickly ushered out of the courtroom telling reporters: “I am surprised and very happy”.

The two young women were accused of smearing the nerve agent on Mr Kim’s face in an airport terminal, but previously said they thought they were taking part in a prank for a TV show.

They were the only suspects in custody after four North Korean suspects fled the country the same morning Mr Kim was killed.

Salim Bashir, a lawyer for Ms Huong, said previously she was prepared to testify under oath for her defence.

“She is confident and ready to give her version of the story. It is completely different from what the prosecutors had painted. She was filming a prank and had no intention to kill or injure anyone,” he said.

Lawyers for the women have previously said they were pawns in a political assassination with clear links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and that the prosecution failed to show the women had any intention to kill.

Intent to kill is crucial to a murder charge under Malaysian law.

Malaysian officials have never officially accused North Korea and have made it clear they don’t want the trial politicised.

Kim Jong Nam was the eldest son in the current generation of North Korea’s ruling family.

He had been living abroad for years but could have been seen as a threat to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s rule.

More to follow…

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