At a trial that could send two Southeast Asian women to the gallows, Malaysian prosecutors are shining a light on several men at large they say masterminded and played crucial roles in carrying out the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — At a trial that could send two Southeast Asian women to the gallows, Malaysian prosecutors are shining a light on several men at large they say masterminded and played crucial roles in carrying out the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother.
The lone defendants at the Shah Alam High Court — Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong, 29, of Vietnam — say they are innocent, duped by the men into participating in February’s attack at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, which they say they thought was a harmless prank for a TV show.
If found guilty, they face a mandatory death sentence. In Malaysia, that means they would be hanged.
But since the trial began on Oct. 2, the alleged role of the four missing suspects has come to dominate the proceedings. Both the prosecutors and the defense team say a lot more is going to be revealed in the weeks ahead about the men, who outside of court they acknowledge are believed to be North Korean citizens.
The prosecution this week also stressed that authorities reserve the right to take more formal action against the four if they can gather enough evidence.
A look at what’s come out so far about the missing men, who are referred to officially in court only by their aliases, and what’s known about their actions:
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HANAMORI
Police are now calling him the “mastermind.”
According to chief investigating officer Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz, this man, who sometimes went by the nicknames “Grandpa” and “Uncle,” orchestrated the operation on the ground.
Wan Azirul said airport security video shows that he arrived at the terminal in the same vehicle with two of the three other suspects about 90 minutes ahead of the Feb. 13 attack. Security cameras then captured him meeting both of those men and the third suspect, all separately, at an airport cafe before the attack.
Police say Hanamori, who initially wore a purple shirt but changed after the attack, not only came to the airport with two of the suspects but he met with all three just before the plan was put into action.
