(TibetanReview.net, Feb12’25) –China accounted for the most number of transnational repression incidents documented by Washington DC-based non-profit organisation Freedom House over 2014-2024, being responsible for fully 22% of them, according to the group’s new report released Feb 6. The group said a quarter of the world’s countries had engaged in transnational repression – targeting political exiles abroad to silence dissent – in the past decade.
The group said transnational repression—the tactics used by governments to stifle dissent among political exiles in other countries—is a global threat to national sovereignty, security, and human rights. It has documented 1,219 incidents carried out by 48 governments across 103 countries during the period.
China has been found to be the most frequent offender, being responsible for 272 recorded incidents, followed by Turkey (157), Tajikistan (92), Russia (86), Egypt (57), Cambodia (55), Turkmenistan (53), Uzbekistan and Iran (47 each), and Belarus (42). They have been highlighted as the 10 most repressive regimes when it comes to carrying out transnational repression.
The report – Ten Years of Data on Transnational Repression – said the worst perpetrators targeted not only individuals but also groups. Governments of countries both democratic and autocratic where dissidents had sought refuge were stated to have collaborated with perpetrator states to facilitate 780 incidents since 2014.
The group said host governments had acted on politically motivated Interpol notices, granted questionable extradition requests, and allowed perpetrators to kidnap and remove individuals from their territories.
The most frequent type of transnational repression incidents was stated to be detention, accounting for 503 instances in the database, while unlawful deportations had occurred 241 times. When perpetrator governments manipulate host-country officials to apprehend and return targeted individuals, the rule of law in host states—including democracies—is degraded, the report said.
The group accused perpetrator governments of weaponizing terrorism allegations, preying on the fears of terrorism in host states to legitimize their cross-border intimidation campaigns. Over 46% of cases since 2014 had involved accusations of terrorism or extremism based on religious affiliation or separatist movements.
The group said transnational repression directly interferes with fundamental freedoms, including the rights to free speech, assembly, and association while making international travel risky.
Journalists were stated to be prime targets, with the perpetrator governments regularly reaching beyond their borders to intimidate journalists and suppress truthful reporting. The report said authoritarian leaders view independent media and whistleblowers, both at home and abroad, as activists who threaten their power.
The report said some democracies, such as the USA, the UK and Canada had responded to transnational repression by prosecuting or sanctioning perpetrators, and assisting diaspora communities and otherwise adopting new legislation to combat the practice.
The UN Human Rights Council and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have taken up the issue of protecting exiled dissidents while the G7 will focus on transnational repression as a central issue to address through multilateral action in 2025, the report noted.
Freedom House released its first transnational repression report in 2021.