Cambodian ex-MP's killer jailed for life in Thailand

A Thai gunman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok, with the former lawmaker's widow left questioning who ordered the killing.

French national Lim Kimya, a former opposition parliamentarian in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by Ekkalak Paenoi as the ex-MP arrived in the Thai capital with his wife.

Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country's powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting, and Lim Kimya's widow called this week for a full accounting of who was behind it.

Ekkalak faced a potential death sentence in Thailand for premeditated murder, but a judge said Friday that the Bangkok court reduced his sentence to life imprisonment since he confessed.

The Thai man was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia a day after the shooting, and admitted to committing the murder in a livestream video.

The trial began just three days ago with an examination of witnesses, including Lim Kimya's widow, Anne-Marie Lim.

"Anne-Marie is probably satisfied with today's verdict, but she is still questioning who ordered the crime," her lawyer Nadhthasiri Bergman told reporters outside the court on Friday.

"She wants authorities to get to the bottom of it."

Lim, who is also French, attended the opening of the trial on Tuesday, telling AFP she wanted to know the "reason for this crime and who ordered it".

- 'Full justice' -

Bergman said Friday that they knew there were additional suspects in Cambodia, and the Thai government "could help push the extradition process to bring them to justice".

The judge did not offer details about the killer's motive or a possible mastermind behind the murder.

Thai police said in January that they were also seeking to arrest a Cambodian national believed to be behind the killing.

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They identified two Cambodian suspects: Ly Ratanakrasksmey, accused of having recruited the gunman, and Pich Kimsrin, the alleged lookout who local media has reported was on the bus alongside the victim and his wife.

Days after the killing, following media reports that Ratanakrasksmey was a former adviser to Hun Sen, Cambodia's ruling party released a statement saying he was dismissed from the role in March 2024.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who is the eldest son of Hun Sen, has denied any official involvement.

The former premier led Cambodia for nearly four decades until 2023, and Western nations and human rights organisations have long accused his government of using the legal system to crush the opposition.

Am Sam Ath, operations director of Cambodian rights group Licadho, told AFP the life sentence for the Thai gunman offered partial justice for the slain politician.

"Since Lim Kimya is also a Cambodian, we want to see that Thai authorities and the Thai court conduct further investigations in order to render full justice for him," Am Sam Ath said.

"We want to see an investigation into people involved (in the killing)."

Lim Kimya was an MP in Cambodia from 2013 to 2017, when his party, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was banned by the country's Supreme Court.

He then withdrew from politics and returned to France, his wife's lawyers have said.

The Bangkok court on Friday also dismissed the charges against a second defendant, Thai national Chakrit Buakhil, who was accused of driving Ekkalak to the Cambodian border after the shooting.

Chakrit's lawyer Natchapong Moosakopas said he was "only a driver and did not know what was happening".

Some Thai media reported this year that Ekkalak was paid 60,000 baht ($1,800) for the killing but police said he claimed he did not receive payment and took the job "to pay a debt of gratitude".

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