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ABC News
ABC News
National
court reporter Claire Campbell

Man sentenced to life in mental health facility over murder in South Australia's Far West

Ibrahim Hotak was murdered on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. (Facebook)

A man has been sentenced to life in a mental health facility for killing his travel companion on the Nullarbor Plain.

Maiwand Rahimi was found not guilty of murdering Ibrahim Hotak, 29, by reason of mental incompetence.

Mr Hotak's body was found about 100 kilometres east of the Nullarbor Roadhouse in December 2018.

The Supreme Court today imposed a supervision order detaining Rahimi to life in a mental health facility.

The pair was travelling from Adelaide to Perth before they had a fight during the trip, police said.

At the time of the arrest, police said a farmer picked up a man from the Eyre Highway, at nearby Nundroo, after his car ran out of fuel. 

The car Ibrahim Hotak and Maiwand Rahimi had been using to drive from Adelaide to Perth. (SA Police)

The farmer took the man to the Aboriginal community of Yalata and when police returned him to his car, they noticed blood on the vehicle.

Hotak worked as interpreter with the Australian Defence Force

Mr Hotak's family, wife and several young children were left devastated after his death.

He previously worked as an interpreter with the Australian Defence Force and the US army in Afghanistan before escaping to Australia after facing threats from the Taliban. 

Mr Hotak had also worked briefly as an interpreter for ABC International in Australia and was a security officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide Oval, as well as an Uber driver.

His friends and the Afghan community at the time paid tribute to a "brilliant fieldsman" with the Kenilworth Cricket Club and Afghan Cricket Club.

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