“It’s our complaint that the public prosecution has not acted fairly and justly to Doan Thi Huong,” said her lawyer Hisyam Teh, who asked for an adjournment on the grounds that his client was unwell.

Teh told the court the rejection of Vietnam’s request was “perverse” and a case of discrimination, as the attorney general had favoured one party over another, considering the court had ordered both to enter their defence.

Vietnam’s ministers of justice and foreign affairs were communicating with their Malaysian counterparts to secure his client’s release, Teh added.

After the ruling, Huong was seen sobbing as she spoke with Vietnamese embassy officials, before being whisked away by police.

The trial featured airport video recordings of two women allegedly assaulting Kim Jong Nam while he prepared to check in for a flight.

In one, a woman identified as Huong puts her hands on Kim’s face, while a blurry image shows someone the prosecution identified as Siti Aisyah hurrying away.

Teh rejected speculation that Siti Aisyah’s release was due to a lack of video evidence against her, saying the court had already established a case against both.

“So it makes no difference whatsover if Doan’s image was caught on the CCTV camera, none at all,” he said.

Defence lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents. The North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur was defaced with graffiti just hours before the trial was to resume.

Interpol had issued a red notice for four North Koreans identified as suspects by Malaysian police who had left the country hours after the murder.

In Vietnam, Huong’s stepmother Nguyen Thi Vy said the decision saddened her.

“I don’t understand why the other girl was released, but not my daughter,” Vy told Reuters after the decision. “They were charged with the same thing, it’s such an injustice.”

Huong’s father, who had washed bed sheets in anticipation of her homecoming after the release of Siti Aisyah, said he was saddened his daughter remained in custody. He was sure the Vietnamese government’s plea would work.

“I am very sad. The government gave us the best support but the other side could not solve it, what can we do,” said Doan Van Thanh from his rural village in northern Vietnam.

Thanh insisted his daughter was tricked into Kim’s murder and believed she thought she was part of a prank for TV.

“I still believe Huong is innocent,” the parking lot attendant said at his home surrounded by rice paddies in Nam Dinh province.

He implored his daughter not to lose hope. “Please be patient, the Vietnamese government will support your release,” he said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press