One of Cambodia's last independent newspapers, the Cambodia Daily, has published its final edition after 24 years in operation.
The paper was ordered by the government to close its doors over allegations it had not paid $7.9 million in tax.
The paper has no avenue to appeal the order.
In a statement, the newspaper says, "There may well be a legitimate dispute between the tax department and the owners of the Daily over when tax became collectable... Instead, the Daily has been targeted with an astronomical tax assessment, leaks and false statements."
Prime Minister Hun Sen last month reportedly called the publishers of the Cambodia Daily "thieves."
He said if the bill was not paid within 30 days the paper should pack up its things and leave.
In recent weeks, the government has ordered at least 15 radio stations to close or stop broadcasting programming from the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.
The government also ordered the expulsion of the National Democratic Institute, a pro-democracy, non-profit organisation linked to the Democratic Party of the United States.
Associate Professor Jonathan Bogais from the University of Sydney, believes the crackdown on free expression is part of the government's preparations for next July's election, that Hun Sen has no intention of losing.
"So there's nothing the newspaper did that was actually defamatory. They just voice an opinion against the authority of Prime Minister Hun Sen it's not so much what they would say or write, it's what will be perceived as dangerous or conflictual. And that's enough for them to be shut and I think we are going to see more of that in the next few months as we approach the election."
It comes as Cambodia's opposition leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested at his home for treason.
Two months ago, he was confidently campaigning for his party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party.
"It's my observation, up to today, that the overall situation for this year's election is better than the previous one, and the support for the CNRP is stronger."
But on Sunday morning he was accused of conspiring with unnamed foreigners to harm the country.
His staff deny the allegations and say the charges are politically motivated.
Associate Professor Bogais says he is not surprised by the arrest.
He says Prime Minister Hen Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who's ruled Cambodia for three decades, is maintaining his grip on power.
"It's a very fine line for him to play because if he cracks down violently on the opposition movement, then he will be condemned by the international community and he just does not want that. But at the same time he does not want the opposition to win. And leaders such as Sokha are dangerous to his leadership so removing him was probably the only option for Hun Sen at this point."
It's not the first time an opposition figure has been silenced in Cambodia.
Last year Kem Ley, a prominent Cambodian political commentator and founder of a new independent political party, was shot dead in broad daylight in Phnom Penh.
Although a suspect admitted to the crime, Mr Ley's death was suspected to be a political assassination.
While Cambodia claims to be democratic, Jonathan Bogais says it is, in effect, a one-party country.
"The opposition has never been functional and certainly never been able to offer a real challenge so Hen Sen manipulated this, he is an expert manipulator, so controlling the opposition and the media is a strategy that has worked for him for the last 30 years, so democracy in Cambodia has never existed. There were elections but not in the sense as we would like to see."
