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

In the month of January, shortly after the politician arrived in the Thai capital with his wife, he was fatally shot in a public area by Thai national Ekkalak Paenoi. Ekkalak then escaped to the neighboring country, where he was apprehended and deported.

Ekkalak had originally received the death penalty, but that was commuted 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 motivated assassination.

Government Background in the Country

Dissident figures and campaigners are often jailed and intimidated in Cambodia, where government officials have little tolerance for opposition views.

The deceased, who had dual Cambodian and French nationality, was a former parliamentarian from Cambodia's main opposition party, the CNRP.

The CNRP had nearly succeeded in overthrowing the long-ruling party of ex-leader Hun Sen in 2013.

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

The current PM of Cambodia the new leader - who took over from his father Hun Sen in 2023 - has denied that the government was involved in Lim's killing.

Particulars of the Legal Proceedings

Security camera footage from January showed Ekkalak stopping his motorcycle, 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 US dollars (£40,800) to Lim Kimya's family.

The court dismissed a charge against a second suspect - a Thai national charged with driving the killer to the Cambodian border after the incident - on the basis that he was merely a chauffeur who did not have knowledge of the murder.

Responses and Wider Consequences

The legal representative for the widow of the victim told news agency the press that she was "likely content" with Friday's verdict, though she was "continuing to ask who ordered the crime".

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

In the past few years many protesters fleeing repression in Southeast Asian nations have been returned after requesting asylum, or in certain instances have been killed or gone missing.

Human rights groups believe there is an unwritten agreement among the four adjacent nations to permit each other's security forces to chase dissidents over the border.