A hitman who killed a opposition politician in Bangkok was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for murder.
Lim Kimya, a former opposition parliamentarian in Cambodia, was shot dead in the old quarter of Bangkok hours on January 7.
Kimya was shot in the chest shortly after arriving in the Thai capital on a bus from neighboring Cambodia. His French wife was also there, and witnessed the murder of her husband.
The Thai defendant, who was arrested in Cambodia the day after the shooting, had faced a potential death sentence for the premeditated murder but his sentence was commuted to life as he confessed.
Who was Lim Kimya?
Kimya, 74, was a dual Cambodian and French citizen and a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) from 2013 to 2017.
The CNRP was the country’s main opposition movement and was dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court ahead of the 2018 general election because of an alleged treason plot, which the CNRP dismissed at the time as a fabrication.
Two Cambodian suspects remain uncaught
Two further men are still being sought for the murder, with both said to be Cambodian nationals. One is thought to have hired the hitman while the other was said to be a lookout who allegedly was on the bus alongside the victim and his wife.
One of the accused was an aide to former ruling party leader , leading to Cambodia’s ruling party releasing a statement saying that the suspect was dismissed from the role in March 2024.
Hun Sen led Cambodia for nearly four decades until 2023. Numerous Western nations and human rights organizations have long accused his government of using the legal system to crush the opposition.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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