CAMBODIA

A Cambodian court jailed a man for life for killing prominent government critic Kem Ley, in a murder case that raised suspicions of a political motive though the convicted killer testified that it was over a debt. Kem Ley, 46, was shot in Phnom Penh in broad daylight last year and his death drew tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets against a backdrop of growing political tension with veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen gearing up for elections. Chuop Somlap, 45, a former Khmer Rouge soldier whose name means “meet to kill”, said during his trial that he had killed Kem Ley over a US$3,000 debt, a statement disputed by the victim’s family and human rights groups.