🔗 Share this article

A Thai court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing a well-known political dissident from Cambodia in Bangkok.

In January, shortly after Lim Kimya arrived in the capital city of Thailand with his wife, he was shot dead in a public area by Thai national Ekkalak Paenoi. Ekkalak then fled to Cambodia, where he was arrested and deported.

The defendant had originally received the death penalty, but that was commuted to life imprisonment due to his confession to the murder, the court said on Friday.

The motive for the politician's killing is still unknown - though it has been broadly believed to be a politically driven targeted killing.

Political Context in the Country

Opposition politicians and campaigners are often jailed and harassed in the nation, where authorities have minimal acceptance for opposition views.

The deceased, who had citizenship in both Cambodia and France, was a ex-lawmaker from Cambodia's main opposition party, the CNRP.

This political party had come close to overthrowing the long-ruling party of former leader Hun Sen in 2013.

After Hun Sen accused the CNRP of treason, the political organization was outlawed in 2017 and its supporters were barred from taking part in political activities.

The current PM of Cambodia Hun Manet - who succeeded his parent Hun Sen in 2023 - has denied that the government was implicated in the assassination.

Details of the Case

Surveillance video from the incident month showed the convicted man stopping his motorcycle, removing his helmet and strolling calmly across the road before shots rang out.

The offender was also found guilty of carrying and using a gun, and instructed to pay around 55,000 US dollars (40,800 British pounds) to the victim's relatives.

The tribunal dismissed a charge against another defendant - a Thai national accused of transporting the killer to the Cambodian border after the shooting - on the basis that he was merely a chauffeur who did not know about the killing.

Reactions and Broader Implications

The legal representative for the widow of the victim told media outlet the press that she was "probably satisfied" with the court's decision, though she was "continuing to ask who ordered the crime".

"She desires the officials to fully investigate the matter."

In the past few years dozens of activists escaping repression in Southeast Asian nations have been sent back after requesting asylum, or in some cases have been killed or disappeared.

Human rights groups believe there is an tacit understanding among the four neighbouring countries to permit each other's security forces to pursue dissidents over the border.