Trial to shed light on Jong-nam airport assassination
KUALA LUMPUR: Two women accused of the Cold War-style assassination of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader will go on trial next week, possibly lifting the lid on the mysterious murder that sparked a diplomatic crisis.
The defendants have barely been seen in public since their arrest days after the murder of Kim Jongnam on Feb 13, as he waited to board a plane to Macau at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were accused of rubbing toxic VX nerve agent in his face in a hit that stunned the world and sparked a fierce row between North Korea and Malaysia.
Kim died an agonising death about 20 minutes after the attack, which was caught on airport CCTV as the VX — a chemical so deadly it was listed as a weapon of mass destruction — rapidly overcame his central nervous system.
The women, who may face the death penalty if convicted, said they were duped, and believed they were taking part in a prank for a reality TV show.
Their only appearances since February have been at heavily guarded court dates, with the diminutive pair dwarfed by heavily armed police as they were ushered into hearings wearing flak jackets and handcuffs.
The closely-watched trial will start on Monday at Shah Alam High Court, with Aisyah, 25, and Huong, 29, expected to plead not guilty before the prosecution begins presenting their case.
There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the murder.
These range from how the two women allegedly became involved in a high-profile assassination, to how a lethal nerve agent was deployed in an airport and killed Jong-nam but harmed no one else.
South Korea accuses the North of being behind the murder of Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother, who had voiced criticism of the regime after falling from grace and going to live in exile overseas. The North denies the allegation. Some North Korean figures linked to the plot fled Malaysia immediately after the assassination, while others were allowed to leave the country later to ease the diplomatic crisis.
The prosecution will lay out their case at hearings over two months and will call 30 to 40 witnesses. The defence is then likely to be called to present its case.
The women’s lawyers have insisted their clients were tricked into taking part in what they believed was a prank.
The incident sent the diplomatic temperature soaring between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur, with both countries expelling each other’s ambassadors and barring their citizens from leaving. Tensions eased when Malaysia agreed to return Jong-nam’s body.
An Asian Cup football qualifier between Malaysia and North Korean was postponed amid the crisis, and was delayed this week for a third time after Kuala Lumpur imposed a ban on travel to North Korea due to surging nuclear tensions. AFP