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On 10 July, 2016, prominent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead in the middle of Phnom Penh. His murder sent shockwaves across Cambodia, and his funeral saw hundreds of thousands of Cambodians take to the street in numbers not seen since the 2013 elections to accompany his body from the capital city to his home village in Takeo province.

His shocking murder took place amid mounting political tensions. Elections are set for 2017 and 2018, and throughout the year the Cambodian government appeared increasingly determined to shut down civil and political dissent through use of force, legal attacks and a legislative assault before the country goes to the polls. By July, there were 29 documented political prisoners in Cambodia’s jails. At the end of the year, 27 remain imprisoned still.

Throughout the year, civil society faced repressive legislation, unwarranted legal attacks and a crackdown on fundamental freedoms in an attempt to create a climate of fear and silence. Peaceful gatherings were shut down, sometimes violently. Belligerent rhetoric from the government and armed forces, which disingenuously labelled assembly and expression as “colour revolutions”, became commonplace.

Meanwhile, the opposition party was subject to a sustained political and judicial attack by the government: after the leader of the opposition party was forced into exile, 2016 saw a far-reaching smear campaign against his deputy, culminating in six months of de facto house arrest, the mobilization of soldiers around his headquarters, and a conviction that eventually received a royal pardon in December.

By the end of 2016 – which marked 25 years after the Paris Peace Agreement was signed – the future of democracy and human rights in Cambodia edged closer to the precipice. However, there remains some cause for optimism. Despite the shock of Kem Ley’s murder, his death prompted hundreds of thousands of Cambodians to join a mass outpouring of calls for justice. In the face of intimidation, imprisonment and violence, Cambodian civil society maintained sustained public protests and calls for change. As elections approach, this tenacity and visible presence will prove ever more vital.