Life Imprisonment for Thai Assassin of Cambodian Politician

Fri Oct 03 2025 15:35:33 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A Thai court sentences Ekkalak Paenoi to life in prison for the assassination of Cambodian opposition politician Lim Kimya, raising questions over the political motivations behind the crime and ongoing repression in Cambodia.

Ekkalak Paenoi was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Thai court for the murder of Lim Kimya, a prominent Cambodian opposition figure. The case has highlighted concerns about political repression in Cambodia, where opposition voices are often silenced. Although Ekkalak initially faced the death penalty, his confession led to a commutation. Lim's widow seeks answers regarding who orchestrated the assassination amid accusations of political motivation.

A Thai court has sentenced a man to life in prison for killing a prominent Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok.

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

Ekkalak had initially been handed the death penalty, but that was commuted to life imprisonment because of his confession to the killing, the court said on Friday.

The reason behind Lim Kimya's killing remains unclear - though it has been widely suspected to be a politically motivated assassination.

Opposition politicians and activists are often jailed and harassed in Cambodia, where authorities have little tolerance for political dissent.

Lim Kimya, who had dual Cambodian and French nationality, was a former parliamentarian from Cambodia's main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

The CNRP had come close to defeating the long-ruling party of former leader Hun Sen in 2013.

After Hun Sen accused the CNRP of treason, the party was banned in 2017 and its members were prohibited from taking part in political activities.

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

Security camera footage from January showed Ekkalak parking his motorbike, removing his helmet and walking calmly across the road before shots rang out.

Ekkalak was also found guilty of carrying and using a firearm, and ordered to pay around $55,000 (£40,800) to Lim Kimya's family.

The court dismissed a charge against another defendant - a Thai national accused of driving Ekkalak to the Cambodian border after the shooting - on the grounds that he was only a driver who did not know about the killing.

The lawyer for Lim Kimya's widow told news agency AFP that she was 'probably satisfied' with Friday's verdict, though she was 'still questioning who ordered the crime'.

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

In recent years dozens of activists fleeing repression in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have been sent back after seeking sanctuary, or in some cases have been killed or disappeared.

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