Updated
An Indonesian woman who was charged with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother has been freed after her case was thrown out by a Malaysian judge.
Key points:
- Ms Aisyah and her co-accused were charged after two women killed Kim Jong-nam by smearing a nerve agent on his face
- They had claimed they were hoodwinked by North Korean agents into thinking they were playing a prank for a TV show
- Ms Aisyah said she was surprised and very happy the charges against her had been withdrawn
Prosecutors withdrew the charge against Siti Aisyah without giving a reason, and she was discharged without an acquittal.
Mr Kim’s estranged half-brother Kim Jong-nam died in February, 2017 after two women smeared his face with a nerve agent inside a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
The US said Pyongyang had used the chemical warfare agent VX in the public assassination, for which Ms Aisyah and Vietnamese woman Doan Thi Huong were later charged with murder.
They both pleaded not guilty and had claimed they were duped by North Korean agents into thinking they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera TV show.
What is VX gas?
- A highly toxic and rapidly acting chemical warfare agent developed in the UK in the 1950s
- The most potent of all nerve agents, it is much more potent than the well-known sarin but works in a similar way
- Symptoms appear within seconds of exposure to the vapour or after exposure to the liquid form
- A large dose of VX may result in convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis and respiratory failure possibly leading to death
- It is possible that any visible VX liquid contact on the skin, unless washed off immediately, would be lethal
- Only one person has ever been officially confirmed as having died from VX
*Source: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Four North Korean suspects fled Malaysia the same morning Kim Jong-nam was killed.
After the case against Ms Aisyah thrown out, she was quickly ushered out of the courtroom and into a waiting car.
Ms Aisyah was emotional as she told reporters she had only learned this morning that she would be freed.
“I am surprised and very happy,” she said.
“I didn’t expect it.”
Her lawyers said Ms Aisyah was heading to the Indonesian embassy and was expected to fly back to Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Ms Huong’s murder trial was put on hold following the surprise development.
“I am in shock. My mind is blank,” a distraught Ms Huong told reporters through a translator after Ms Aisyah left.
Ms Houng’s lawyer said he would seek to postpone her trial and that ending the case against Ms Aisyah was unfair.
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 Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-nam, who was living in exile in Macau, had criticised his family’s dynastic rule and his brother ordered his execution, South Korean lawmakers have said.
Pyongyang has denied accusations by South Korean and US officials that Kim Jong-un’s regime was behind the killing.
ABC/Wires
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