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A Thai court has handed down a sentence to a man to life imprisonment for murdering a prominent Cambodian opposition politician in the Thai capital.

In January, shortly after Lim Kimya arrived in the capital city of Thailand with his spouse, he was shot dead in public by Thai national the assailant. The perpetrator then escaped to Cambodia, where he was apprehended and deported.

Ekkalak had originally received the death penalty, but that was reduced to a life sentence because of his admission to the killing, the judicial body said on Friday.

The reason behind the politician's killing remains unclear - though it has been widely suspected to be a politically driven assassination.

Government Background in Cambodia

Opposition politicians and activists are often imprisoned and harassed in Cambodia, where authorities have minimal acceptance for political dissent.

Lim Kimya, 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 the previous prime minister in the year 2013.

After Hun Sen accused the opposition party of treason, the political organization was outlawed in 2017 and its members were barred from taking part in political engagements.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet - who succeeded his parent the former PM in 2023 - has denied that the government was involved in Lim's killing.

Details of the Case

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

Ekkalak was also convicted of possessing and firing a firearm, and ordered to pay around 55,000 US dollars (40,800 British pounds) to Lim Kimya's family.

The court dismissed a accusation against another defendant - a Thai national charged with transporting Ekkalak to the Cambodian border after the incident - on the grounds that he was merely a chauffeur who did not have knowledge of the killing.

Reactions and Broader Implications

The lawyer for Lim Kimya's widow told news agency AFP that she was "probably satisfied" with the court's decision, though she was "still questioning who commissioned the crime".

"She wants authorities to fully investigate the matter."

In recent years dozens of protesters fleeing crackdowns in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have been returned after requesting asylum, or in some cases have been murdered or disappeared.

Advocacy organizations believe there is an tacit understanding among the four neighbouring countries to permit each other's security forces to pursue opponents over the frontier.