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Vietnamese lawyers offer support to Kim murder suspect as death penalty looms

By Ba Do March 1, 2017 | 11:28 pm PT

She was charged with killing the North Korean leader’s suspected half-brother and will stand trial in April.

The Vietnam Bar Association has offered to provide legal assistance for Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong who is facing the death penalty in Malaysia after being charged with the murder of Kim Jong-Nam.

The association's chairman Do Ngoc Thinh said he will discuss with Vietnam’s Justice Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry about how best to assist Huong in the case.

No specific timeline has been set.

Thinh said that Malaysian laws do not allow foreign lawyers to practice in their country, but Vietnam can find ways through diplomatic channels so that its lawyers can help Huong.

On Wednesday, Huong, 28, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, were charged with the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after his assassination at a Malaysian airport last month.

Police accuse the pair of having wiped VX nerve agent, a weapon of mass destruction and banned around the world, on Kim’s face at a Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13.

The women claim they thought they were merely taking part in a prank video.

Selvam Shanmugam, Huong’s lawyer, said after the trial that she denied the charge and said that she’s innocent.

She was “distressed,” he told Reuters.

The next court date will be April 13, when prosecutors will apply for the accused to be tried jointly.