Kim Jong-nam: How did he die?

Kim Jong-Nam was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father.

Kim Jong-Nam: How did he die?

The killing of Kim Jong-nam on foreign soil caused a major diplomatic crisis between North Korea and Malaysia, with Malaysia expelling the North Korean ambassador, refusing to release Kim Jong-nam’s body to Pyongyang, and demanding three North Koreans hiding in the embassy come in for questioning by the police, to which North Korea responded by holding hostage all Malaysians in North Korea.

However, in the two years since the murder, behind-the-scenes diplomacy has taken over and appears to have significantly influenced how events have unfolded in the courtroom.

After a judge ruled that both Siti and Doan should testify, a full-blown diplomatic campaign began in Indonesia. President Jokowi met the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, twice in 2018 to press for Siti’s release.

It proved effective; in an order signed by the attorney general that cited the “good relations” between Malaysia and Indonesia, Siti was acquitted in March.