Dissidents and human-rights activists are increasingly facing a cross-border gauntlet of threats and violence from the very authoritarian regimes they are trying to escape, according to a new report by Freedom House detailing the “immense scope” and normalization of transnational repression.
The report found that 31 countries—such as China, Saudia Arabia, and Russia—carried out attacks against victims in 79 host countries, making for a total six years of more than 600 cases of transnational repression: when governments reach beyond their borders to stifle dissent. More than two dozen were assassinations or assassination attempts since 2016. In all, about 3.5 million people globally have ultimately been impacted by these acts of coercion and intimidation.
