Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman who was accused of taking part in the assassination Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea's Kim Jong Un, was freed after prosecutors dropped the murder charge against her. the woman was acquitted on March 11 after spending two years in the Malaysian jail.
According to CNN, the dropping of the murder case against Siti Aisyah surprised many people and even the accused herself was shocked by the verdict as well. It was revealed that when the judge withdrew the charge and allowed the Indonesian to walk free, no reason was mentioned for the decision.
Aisyah hugged her co-accused, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, after the judge announced the verdict in the murder trial for Nam's death in 2017. She quickly left the courtroom with her lawyers and was ushered to a waiting car.
But while Aisyah was freed, the other suspect, Huong, is still in custody and waiting for her own trial that is set to take place on Thursday, March 14. The Vietnamese national is looking forward to positive outcomes after the surprising development in the case.
Rusdi Kirana, the Indonesian Ambassador, thanked the Malaysian government for letting Aisyah go. On the other hand, Huong started her defense during a court session that was held on the same day. Her testimony has been delayed for months and this may explain why her co-accused's case was closed first.
Huong's lawyer, Salim Bashir, stated that her client is ready to testify under oath for her defense.
"She is confident and ready to give her version of the story. It is completely different from what the prosecutors had painted, Bashir told AP via South China Morning Post. "She was filming a prank and had no intention of killing or injuring anyone."
Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong were the prime suspects in the assassination of Kim Jong Nam. They were accused of killing Kim Jong Un's half-brother by putting a VX nerve agent on the victim's face while he was waiting for his flight at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13, 2017.
When the young women were apprehended and taken into custody, they said that it was a misunderstanding. The suspects claimed they were tricked into smearing the deadly substance on Nam's face after they were told it is only a prank for a television show. Four other suspects, all North Koreans, have escaped and currently being hunted down.
