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A Thai court has handed down a sentence to a man to life imprisonment for murdering a well-known political dissident from Cambodia in Bangkok.

In the month of January, hours after Lim Kimya arrived in the Thai capital with his spouse, he was fatally shot in a public area by Thai national the assailant. The perpetrator then escaped to the neighboring country, where he was arrested and deported.

The defendant had initially been handed the capital punishment, but that was commuted to life imprisonment due to his admission to the killing, the court said on Friday.

The motive for the politician's killing remains unclear - though it has been broadly believed to be a politically driven targeted killing.

Political Background in Cambodia

Opposition politicians and campaigners are often imprisoned and intimidated 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 ex-leader the previous prime minister in the year 2013.

After the former leader charged the opposition party of betrayal, the party was outlawed in 2017 and its supporters were barred from taking part in political engagements.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet - who succeeded his parent Hun Sen in 2023 - has denied that the government was involved in the assassination.

Details of the Legal Proceedings

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

The offender was also convicted of possessing and firing a gun, and ordered to pay around $55,000 (£40,800) to the victim's relatives.

The tribunal dismissed a charge against another defendant - a Thai citizen accused of transporting the killer to the border with Cambodia after the incident - on the grounds that he was only a driver who did not know about the killing.

Reactions and Wider Consequences

The lawyer for the widow of the victim told news agency the press that she was "likely content" 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 many protesters escaping crackdowns in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have been returned after requesting asylum, or in certain instances have been murdered or gone missing.

Advocacy organizations believe there is an unwritten agreement among the four adjacent nations to permit each other's law enforcement to chase opponents over the border.