PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — For the reporters and editors of The Cambodia Daily, an independent newspaper, Sunday was the end of an era as they prepared its final edition after 24 years in operation.

It was also a chance to cover one more significant story about the loss of free expression in an increasingly autocratic country.

The Daily was ordered by the government to close its doors by Monday over allegations that it had not paid millions of dollars in taxes. The newspaper will publish its last print edition on Monday morning.

But rather than simply mourn their loss, The Daily’s reporters and editors scrambled through the night to cover the arrest of the opposition leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason. He was taken from his house in handcuffs early Sunday morning, accused of colluding with the United States.