Transnational Repression in 2023: Insecure Leaders Threaten Dissent Abroad

More governments are using transnational repression to silence dissent among diaspora and exiled communities. In 2023, Freedom House recorded 125 incidents of transnational repression committed by 25 governments. Our database now includes 1,034 direct, physical cases of transnational repression in 100 countries, carried out by 44 governments since 2014.

The first documented incidents of transnational repression carried out by Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, and Yemen were added to the database in 2023. These six new government perpetrators join other documented offenders including China, Russia, Rwanda, and Turkey. Despite growing awareness of such behavior, the fact that over 20 percent of countries worldwide have used transnational repression is a testament to the global nature of the problem.

The ever-widening scope of transnational repression is not a sign of strength, but of anxiety. Poorly performing autocracies like Cambodia, Iran, Russia, and Myanmar and backsliding democracies like India are relying on transnational repression to intimidate outspoken individuals who challenge their domestic regimes. Now more than ever, democracies must counter this cross-border censorship and elevate and nurture the voices that perpetrators of transnational repression seek to silence.

Electoral anxiety

Facing resistance from opposition political parties and protest movements during election cycles, authoritarian leaders in 2023 did not contain their assault on their opponents to within their borders. After Cambodian electoral authorities barred the Candlelight Party, the main competitor of the long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP), from participating in July elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen went after Cambodian CPP opponents living in other countries. The Cambodian government was responsible for 15 incidents of transnational repression last year. In July, Thai authorities detained Candlelight Party youth organizer Thol Samnang, who is at imminent risk of deportation to Cambodia. Further afield, in Australia, three Cambodian-Australian lawmakers and Hun Sen critics received death threats prior to the elections. Even after Hun Sen ceded power to his son Hun Manet, the CPP worked with Thai law enforcement to secure the detention of Cambodian civic leaders and legally recognized refugees.

The Iranian regime persisted in its pursuit of political dissidents, journalists, and women’s rights activists as it attempted to keep a lid on protests in the run-up to legislative elections scheduled for March 2024. Following the widespread protests over the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of the government’s so-called morality police, Tehran aimed to stifle any movement that could underscore the crisis of legitimacy and voter apathy it is currently facing. Security services in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland warned and offered additional protections to several Iranian LGBT+ and women’s rights activists. Likewise, London’s Metropolitan Police closely investigated threats facing Farsi-language news channel Iran International TV, which temporarily relocated to Washington in February before returning to London with the support of British law enforcement.

Beyond the battlefield

Authoritarian leaders locked in bloody conflicts with surprisingly resilient democratic forces used transnational repression to muzzle antiwar campaigners, deserters, and pro-democracy advocates. With the Kremlin’s war of aggression in Ukraine stalled, Russian president Vladimir Putin relentlessly policed freedom of expression and antiwar demonstrations both inside and outside the country. In May, Kyrgyzstani authorities deported activist Aleksey Rozhkov to Russia, where he is accused of setting fire to a military recruitment center. In Kazakhstan, five incidents involved either antiwar commentators or defectors who were detained at the request of the Russian government. Finally, in a particularly egregious case, Russian security officials and military police in Armenia forcibly returned deserter Dmitry Setrakov to Russia, where a criminal case has been opened against him for leaving his unit.

In response to strides made by resistance forces on the ground in Myanmar, the ruling military junta has turned to tactics of transnational repression in desperation. In parallel with a worsening crackdown on civilians at home, the junta targeted nonviolent oppositionists living in exile. Three members of the opposition group Lion Battalion Commando Column—Thiha, Htet Nay Win, and Saw Phyo Lay—found themselves in the crosshairs of Burmese security forces while seeking medical attention in Thailand. In early April, Thai law enforcement, which has cultivated strong ties with the junta in recent years, captured the three activists and returned them to Myanmar, where they were shot. Similarly, in July, refugee rights advocate and supporter of the opposition National Unity Government, Thuzar Maung, her husband, and their three children—two of whom are minors—mysteriously disappeared after being abducted from their Malaysia residence. Her colleagues suspect the junta of abducting them.

An attack on pluralism

The use of transnational repression against minority groups can also mirror the embrace of discriminatory policies in a country. During his time in power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have promoted an exclusionary brand of Hindu nationalism and implemented discriminatory policies affecting India’s Muslim population. Other religious minorities, including Christians and Sikhs, have also come under threat. Against this backdrop, credible allegations by United States (US) and Canadian authorities emerged last year of the Indian government targeting Sikh activists abroad.

The June murder of Canadian citizen and Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia illustrated the brazenness of India’s transnational repression campaign. The Indian government denied any involvement in the assassination following the Canadian prime minister’s announcement that agents of the Indian government may have been behind it. A US Department of Justice indictment in November also linked an Indian national to an official plot to murder US–based Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. If proved true, these allegations would highlight the Indian government’s global application of identity politics.

Fighting weakness with strength

Transnational repression is a weapon of the weak. Far from reflecting self-assuredness, extraterritorial violence seeks to stamp out dissent that threatens brittle regimes. Democracies must fight this kind of dangerous fragility with strength and solidarity, including by recognizing the threat posed by transnational repression. They must protect and empower exile activists living within their borders so that they can enjoy the rights provided by open political systems. Like-minded governments must express solidarity with targeted individuals and connect to vulnerable exile communities. By committing to these policies and presenting a united front, democracies can enable exiled human rights defenders and activists to chip away at the facade of authoritarian strength.