Murder of a Cambodian opponent in Thailand: the sponsor identified

On Wednesday, January 15, Thai police said they were searching for a third suspect who may have ordered the murder.

After the assassination of a Cambodian government critic last week in Bangkok, the Thai shooter was arrested, another suspect who had been watching the victim and pointed him to the killer is being sought and now police believe they have identified the mastermind.

See: Thailand: shocking revelation after the murder of a Franco-Cambodian in Bangkok

The third suspect, Ly Ratanakrasmey, is an advisor to former Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to Major General Atthaphon Wongsiriprida of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Division.

The same day, Thai police chief General Kitrat Phanphet said the assassination was not politically motivated, but likely resulted from a personal conflict.

He did not, however, explain how police reached this conclusion, which appeared to contradict widespread speculation that the ordered assassination stemmed from political conflict in Cambodia.

Lim Kimya, 74, a former lawmaker from the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was shot dead just after arriving in Bangkok on January 7.

The assassination has sparked new concerns that Thailand’s autocratic neighbors are pursuing their critics on Thai soil.

The suspected shooter, Aekaluck Paenoi, a former Thai marine, was arrested the next day in Cambodia’s Battambang province and extradited to Thailand on January 11.

Thai police had previously identified another Cambodian, Pich Kimsrin, and issued an arrest warrant against him.

The latter is suspected of having served as a lookout for the shooter and of having pointed out the victim to him before the murder.

Aekaluck provided valuable testimony to investigators and said Ly Ratanakrasmey “held a grudge against the victim and asked her to take care of it,” Atthaphon told reporters Wednesday.

Investigators also found evidence of money transfers to the shooter and determined that Ly Ratanakrasmey entered Thailand on Jan. 6 and then returned to Cambodia on Jan. 8, the day after the assassination, Atthaphon said. .

Ly Ratanakrasmey traveled on a Cambodian passport, but also used the Thai alias Somwang Bamrungkit in Thailand.

“In the past two years, he crossed the Thai border more than 100 times,” Atthaphon said, adding that Ly Ratanakrasmey spent most of his time in Chonburi province, south of Bangkok.

According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Somwang Bamrungkit’s name is not on the national register of Thai citizens.

Interpol Red Notice for the two suspects

Ly Ratanakrasmey is the former head of the CNRP’s Thai Workers’ Task Force, which tried to gain support from the thousands of Cambodian workers living in Thailand.

He joined the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in 2022.

He is one of several opposition activists who have switched allegiance to the CPP, some after receiving legal threats or other forms of pressure, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

In January 2024, Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng held a ceremony to officially welcome Ly Ratanakrasmey and several others to the CPP.

The new party members were also named advisors to Hun Sen, who has served as Senate president since stepping down as prime minister in 2023.

Atthaphon said authorities received approval from the Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Ly Ratanakrasmey.

Thai authorities also sent an Interpol Red Notice, which is a request to law enforcement authorities around the world that a person accused of a serious crime be located and detained.

Authorities believe Pich Kimsrin, the alleged lookout, can be seen on CCTV footage following Lim Kimya on a cross-border bus and in Bangkok.

Kimsrin is also the subject of an Interpol red notice, Police Major General Theeradej Thammasutee told reporters.

“We are working with Cambodian police to have him arrested and extradited to Thailand to face charges,” he said.

A Cambodian government spokesperson rejected any suggestion that Cambodia could be held responsible for a murder committed in another country.

Separately, police on Tuesday arrested a Thai man suspected of helping the shooter escape across the Cambodian border just after the shooting.

The man told investigators he gave Aekaluck a ride home but was unaware of the shooting.

A tireless critic of power in Cambodia

Photo by M. Lim Kimya.

Lim Kimya, who held dual French and Cambodian citizenship, won a seat in Cambodia’s National Assembly in the 2013 elections.

A tireless critic of the government, he refused to leave Cambodia or be forced into silence on issues such as corruption and human rights, even after many of his opposition colleagues fled the country in following the CNRP ban in 2017.

Lim Kimya was the first Cambodian politician to be shot dead in Thailand, but Cambodian critics in self-exile there have faced increasing danger of attacks and expulsion, rights groups say. ‘man.

Several opposition activists say they were attacked in Thailand because they criticized their government.

In February 2024, Prime Minister Hun Manet met with then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok to discuss a crackdown on what they called “interference” in Cambodian politics by activists Cambodians based in Thailand.

In November, six Cambodian CNRP members were charged with treason shortly after Thai authorities sent them home.

Cambodian citizens in France have planned a funeral service for Lim Kimya this Thursday at Wat Porvong, also known as Wat Saint-Simon, on the outskirts of Paris.

Lim’s wife Kimya – a French citizen who was with her husband when he was killed, is expected to be present, according to funeral organizer Kim Heng.

See also:

Thailand: the killer of the Franco-Cambodian politician was paid 1,686 euros

Thailand: the killer of the Franco-Cambodian politician was arrested in Cambodia

Thailand: a former Cambodian MP with French nationality shot dead in Bangkok

Thaksin says he wants to attack call centers in Cambodia

Source : Radio Free Asia, Thai PBS World