"We have urged the Malaysian Government to provide a consular access to the so-called Indonesian citizen being arrested," Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the Malaysian Government to grant a consular access to Siti Aisyah, named a suspect in the murder of North Korean Kim Jong Nam in Malaysia.

"We have urged the Malaysian Government to provide a consular access to the so-called Indonesian citizen being arrested," Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir during a press briefing here on Thursday.

Nasir emphasized that it was the obligation of Malaysia, as the country that arrested Aisyah, to provide information and consular access without delay in accordance with the 1963 Vienna Convention.

It has been confirmed that Aisyah was holding an Indonesian passport. However, the government is yet to confirm whether she was truly an Indonesian citizen due to the lack of consular access from Malaysia, Nasir stated.

"We respect the legal process done according to Malaysian law and regulation," Nasir added.

It was reported that Malaysian police had filed a request with the Federal Court to extend the detention for Aisyah and the other suspects.

"The fact that the investigators had requested for an extension of detention for seven days has shown that the current evidence was not sufficient to be presented to the prosecution," Director of Indonesian Citizens Protection of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Muhammad Iqbal remarked.

Aisyah, a second woman traveling on a Vietnamese passport, and a boyfriend of one of them have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the death of Jong Nam.

The Malaysian authority has detained the fourth suspect, a North Korean citizen, in connection with the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

On Friday, Aisyah and the other suspects took part in a crime scene reconstruction at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The Malaysian authorities revealed on Tuesday that they were yet to determine the cause of the death of Jong Nam and were yet to confirm the identity, as no next of kin had come forward.

Earlier this week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi had met her Vietnamese and Malaysian counterparts, Panh Binh Minh and Anifah, during the ASEAN AMM Retreat in Boracay, the Philippines, to discuss the alleged involvement of an Indonesian and a Vietnamese citizen in the murder.

Based on the Malaysian law, if the investigation process is still underway, no one, apart from the investigators, is granted permission to meet the arrested suspects.

Speaking in connection with the matter, Marsudi reaffirmed Indonesias request to Malaysia to grant consular access to the Indonesian citizen. She reminded that consular access should be granted based on the Vienna Convention.

Although the staffers of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian lawyers have met the investigators and have obtained information that the Indonesian suspect is in good health, yet the consular access was still pending.

Marsudi pointed out that the granting of consular access could assist and facilitate communication between the investigators and the Indonesian suspect.

The same request was also put forth by the Vietnamese foreign minister who stressed that granting consular access is the basic right of a foreigner being detained in another country.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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