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RI granted access to identify suspect

Malaysian authorities have bowed to pressure from Indonesia over the granting of consular access to a murder case suspect many believe has Indonesian citizenship

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Sat, February 25, 2017

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RI granted access to identify suspect

M

alaysian authorities have bowed to pressure from Indonesia over the granting of consular access to a murder case suspect many believe has Indonesian citizenship.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi received the go-ahead from her Malaysian counterpart late on Friday from the Indonesian legal team in Kuala Lumpur to verify Siti Aisyah, one of two female murder suspects, who the Malaysian police identified as an Indonesian citizen last week.

Retno spoke with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman by phone as she was preparing for the arrival of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Sydney and Canberra, for an official visit that was originally scheduled for last November.

As previously reported, Minister Retno maintained intensive communication with Aman in hopes that the Indonesian legal team would be able to physically verify the detainee, who was moved to a high-security facility in Cyberjaya to prevent further exposure to the media.

Consular access would be granted on Saturday between
10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Kuala Lumpur time, the ministry said in a statement.

An official from the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta corroborated the news, saying an appointment was made for Saturday.

The Indonesian team, consisting of protection officers and an attorney, would use this time to physically verify Siti Aisyah and examine her well-being, as well as to glean information that may be used to ascertain whether further legal counsel is required.

The move by Malaysia was made following revelations that one of two women suspected of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader with the highly toxic VX nerve agent also suffered its effects, Malaysia’s police chief said on Friday.

“She was vomiting,” Malaysian Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted as saying by Reuters, in response to a question about whether the women felt the effects of VX, classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN.

It was unclear whether the person in question was the one identified as Siti.

The ministry’s director for the protection of Indonesian nationals and entities abroad, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said there was renewed urgency to check the well-being of the suspects in custody, as a result of the poison incident.

Malaysian police previously announced to the media that a woman from Vietnam and a woman from Indonesia had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the assault on Kim Chol, which is believed to be an alias of Kim Jong-nam. It is speculated that he was administered a poison, which was sprayed on his face.

Indonesia has raised concern about Malaysia divulging evidence and legal facts about the investigation to the media without prior notice to the Indonesian legal team and without providing access to the suspect.

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