Upon the arrival of an ambulance marked with the logo of the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC)—a group run by Mr. Hun Sen’s wife—many in the crowd shouted, “It’s the car of the killer,” and demanded to carry his body to a pagoda.

Both the CRC ambulance and a separate private ambulance, which the crowd pelted with plastic bottles, were prevented from taking Kem Ley’s body away, with the crowd growing to about 5,000 in the afternoon.

Prominent Political Analyst Kem Ley Slain

Cambodia Daily | 11 July 2016

Kem Ley leaves behind his wife, who is five months pregnant, as well as four sons.

Kem Ley, perhaps Cambodia’s most prominent political analyst and a frequent critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen, was shot dead on Sunday morning at the convenience store of a gas station where he drank coffee and met with friends most mornings.

Sitting alone inside the Caltex gas station at the intersection of Monivong and Mao Tse Toung boulevards, the 46-year-old was attacked execution-style, shot once behind his left ear and once under his left arm, according to Norng Sovannaroth, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court doctor.

Kem Ley’s body is placed in his SUV before being transported to the Wat Chas pagoda on Sunday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

“He was shot once in the head, behind the ear, and once more on his upper arm, exiting out the right of his chest,” said Dr. Sovannaroth at about 3 p.m., after hours of inspecting the body inside the store.

 Read full article