Cambodia - January 2025

Lim Kimya, an exiled former MP for the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was assassinated in Bangkok on 7 January. The murderer, a Thai former solider, escaped to Cambodia but was returned to Thailand on 11 January. Rights watchdogs described the assassination as ‘transnational repression’ – when an authoritarian state punishes critics and inhibits political organizing through violence and intimidation outside of its borders. While no direct connection to the Cambodian government has yet been determined, the assassin confessed to murdering Lim in exchange for ‘financial support’ from an individual he refuses to name out of concerns for his family’s safety. Thai police are also searching for an accomplice who is a Cambodian national. The Cambodian state has continued to pursue and harass members of the party and its successor, the Candlelight Party, through legal and extra-legal means.

Sources: British Broadcasting Corporation, The Diplomat, Amnesty International, Bangkok Post