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Women plead not guilty to murdering N. Korea leader's half-brother

M Jegathesan (Agence France-Presse)
Shah Alam, Malaysia
Mon, October 2, 2017

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 Women plead not guilty to murdering N. Korea leader's half-brother This combination of file handout pictures released by the Royal Malaysian Police in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 19, 2017 shows suspects Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam (left) and Siti Ashyah of Indonesia (right), who were detained in connection to the Feb. 13, 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. (Agence France -Presse/Handout/Royal Malaysian Police)

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wo women pleaded not guilty Monday to murdering the half-brother of North Korea's leader, at the start of their trial in Malaysia over the Cold War-style assassination that shocked the world.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who arrived at the heavily guarded court in handcuffs and wearing bulletproof vests, entered their pleas through interpreters as proceedings got under way.

The defendants were arrested just days after the killing of Kim Jong-Nam on February 13 as he waited to board a plane to Macau at Kuala Lumpur airport.

The women are accused of rubbing toxic VX nerve agent, a chemical so deadly it is listed as a weapon of mass destruction, on his face. 

Kim died an agonising death about 20 minutes after the hit, which was caught on airport CCTV as the VX rapidly shut down his central nervous system.

The defendants -- who face the death penalty if convicted -- claim they were duped into believing they were taking part in a prank for a reality TV show. 

The murder sparked an angry row between North Korea and Malaysia with both countries expelling each other's ambassadors. 

Indonesia's ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana (right) walks towards journalists at the Shah Alam High Court compound during the trial for Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 2, 2017. Two women go on trial on Oct. 2 accused of murdering the half-brother of North Korea's leader, in an audacious assassination in Malaysia that stunned the world and sparked a diplomatic crisis.
Indonesia's ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana (right) walks towards journalists at the Shah Alam High Court compound during the trial for Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 2, 2017. Two women go on trial on Oct. 2 accused of murdering the half-brother of North Korea's leader, in an audacious assassination in Malaysia that stunned the world and sparked a diplomatic crisis. (Agence France -Presse/Mohd Rasfan)

The women were led into Sham Alam High Court, outside Kuala Lumpur, in handcuffs for the start of the trial. Aisyah, 25, was wearing traditional Malaysian dress and Huong, 29, a blue jumper. 

The murder charge was read to them in their native languages and interpreters assigned to the defendants indicated they were pleading not guilty.

Prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad then read a statement giving details of the murder and said the prosecution had sufficient evidence to prove the women's guilt.

"We will provide evidence that the dead victim was at (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) departure lounge when Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong approached the dead victim and swiped a poisoned liquid on the face and eyes of the victim," he told the court.

"The evidence clearly showed that their action to swipe the poison known as VX caused the death of the victim. Expert evidence will be shown that the VX was the cause of death and the chances to save him were extremely slim."

He said the women had carried out exercises with four other people before the murder to ensure they succeeded in their "common intention" of killing Kim.

Defence lawyers immediately demanded the court reveal the names of four other people charged over the murder. 

The four were formally accused in March of the assassination alongside Aisyah and Huong but authorities said they were still at large and have not disclosed their names.

Police have said four North Korean suspects fled Malaysia on the day of the murder, and the women's defence teams insist these individuals are the main suspects.

About 200 police officers had been deployed to guard the court. The defendants arrived in a convoy of police cars with their sirens blaring. 

The trial could at last shed light on the many unanswered questions surrounding the murder.

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