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SHAH ALAM, Malaysia – A Malaysian court on Wednesday ruled on January 7 that two Southeast Asian women charged with the assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother were to start defending themselves. lawyers being complained that some witnesses were inaccessible.
In August, a High Court judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that Indonesians Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, as well as four missing North Korean suspects, were delivered to a "well-planned plot" to kill Kim Jong Nam.
The women looked gloomy but calm at Wednesday's hearing. The trial was scheduled to resume on November 1, but was postponed after a defense attorney fell ill.
Aisyah's lawyers made a new application to the court to compel the attorneys to provide them with the statements that eight witnesses had previously provided to the police.
His attorney, Kulaselvi Sandrasegaram, said that they had learned that one of the witnesses, the man who had driven Kim to the airport, had died, while two Indonesian, roommates from # #,,,, Aishah, would have returned to their country. She added that they only managed to interview two of the witnesses proposed by the prosecutors, while two others did not show up for their appointment and could not be contacted.
Statements of witnesses collected by the police are important in the "interests of justice" and to ensure that what they say to defense counsel is consistent with what they say. told the police, told reporters Sandrasegaram later.
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, senior official, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah are escorted by police as she leaves the Shah Alam High Court after a hearing in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 A Malaysian court on Wednesday set January 7 to two Southeast Asian women accused of murdering the North Korean leader's half-brother began to defend themselves, their lawyers said they were not allowed to defend themselves. being complained that some witnesses were inaccessible. (Yam G-Jun / Associated Press)
Prosecutor Iskandar Ahmad said that police interviews were privileged statements and should not be made public.
Judge Azmi Ariffin said the court would rule on the defense's request on 14 December. He also set 10 days from January 7 to February for the defense of Aishah and 14 days from March 11 to April 6 for Huong.
The two men are alleged to have stained the nerve agent VX on Kim's face at a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal on February 13, 2017. They said they believed they had taken part in a joke for a TV show. They are the only suspects in detention. The four North Korean suspects fled the country the very morning of Kim's assassination.
The lawyers for Aisyah, 25, and Huong, 29, told the judge that they will testify under oath for their defense.
They stated that their clients were pawns during a political assassination with clear links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and that the prosecution did not demonstrate that the women had the intention to kill. Their intent is the key to concluding that they are guilty of murder.
The Malaysian authorities have never officially accused North Korea and have made it clear that they do not want the trial to be politicized.
Kim was the eldest son of the current generation of the North Korean ruling family. He had lived abroad for years but could have been perceived as a threat to the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Murder is a mandatory sentence of hanging, but the Malaysian government plans to abolish the death penalty and has suspended all executions until the laws are changed.
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