Phnom Penh (FN), September 3 - The Cambodia Daily newspaper declared to close and cease publication as of September 4, 2017 due to extra-legal threats by the government to close the Daily, freeze its accounts and prosecute the new owner for the actions of the previous owner regarding tax evasion, according to Daily's immediate release on Sunday.

"On Monday, the Daily’s service to the Cambodian people will end. We want to thank our advertisers and subscribers who supported freedom of the press for so long, and our staff, who have fought fiercely and courageously to report All the News Without Fear or Favor," according to the statement.

General of the tax department delivered on August 29, the tax department accused the Daily of having, over many years, collected and exploited the VAT of “hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients and did not pay tax to the state” and threatened Deborah Krisher-Steele with prosecution for that as the criminal offense of tax evasion.

The Cambodia Daily, like every English language newspaper here, operates at a loss. It has continued because it operates on a shoestring and the Krisher family has been willing to absorb those losses in order to help Cambodia create a free press and a tradition of independent journalism.

Read full statement in the following link: