Woman accused of killing Kim Jong Nam released

In a surprising move, Malaysian authorities on Monday released one of the two women accused of assassinating Kim Jong Un’s half-brother in 2017. Authorities accused Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who have spent two years in prison, of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam’s face at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia on Feb. 13, 2017. Both women insisted they thought they were taking part in a prank for a television show.

Prosecutors did not explain Aisyah’s sudden release during her trial or why they dropped the charges against her, but Indonesian authorities had lobbied for her freedom. Aisyah cried and hugged Huong in the courtroom before departing for Indonesia. “I feel happy, very happy that I cannot express in words,” she said upon her arrival at the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. “After this, I just want to gather with my family.”

The trial against Huong is set to resume Thursday, and prosecutors will likely reply to a similar request to withdraw the charges against her.