Two women plead not guilty to killing Kim Jong-nam
Two women accused of assassinating the estranged half-brother of
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a banned nerve agent pleaded not
guilty at the start of a high-profile murder trial in a Malaysian court
on Monday.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese, are
charged with killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing his face with VX - a
chemical poison banned by the United Nations - at Kuala Lumpur's
international airport on February 13.
The women told their lawyers they did not know they were
participating in a deadly attack and believed they were carrying out a
prank for a reality TV show.
Both women wore bullet-proof vests as they were led into the court on
the outskirts of Malaysia's largest city. They face the death penalty
if convicted.
Prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad read a statement giving details of Kim's murder.
"The evidence clearly showed that their action to swipe the poison
known as VX caused the death of the victim," he told the court.
Defence lawyers said the real culprits have left Malaysia and the women's innocence will be proven in court.
They demanded the prosecution immediately name four other suspects
who have also been charged in the case, but who are still at large. The
prosecution said their identities would be revealed during the trial.
"A fair trial must include the right to know," Gooi Soon Seng,
Aisyah's lawyer, told the court. "The charge must be clear, not
ambiguous."
The women carried out several practice runs at shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the attack on Kim, the prosecution said.
"The prank practice carried out by the first and second accused with
the supervision of the four who are still at large was preparation to
see through their common intention to kill the victim," the prosecution
said in its charge sheet.
Aisyah was paid $100-$200 for each prank and hoped the income would allow her to stop working as an escort, Gooi said.
The trial is expected to run until November 30 and the prosecution is expected to call up to 40 witnesses.
Kim, who was 45 or 46, was the eldest son of the family that has
ruled North Korea since its founding, yet he reportedly fell out of
favour in 2001 when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false
passport, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Robert Kelly, from Pusan National University in South Korea, said
Kim's murder likely strained relations between allies North Korea and
China, which had given him protection in its territory of Macau.
"The Chinese realise all this North Korean gangsterism - not just the
murders but the traffic in methamphetamines and counterfeit dollars - I
think the Chinese would like to rein that in," Kelly told Al Jazeera.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
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