China is world’s most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression: Report

The Chinese government is the world’s most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression, accounting for 253 incidents, or 30 percent of all recorded cases of direct, physical transnational repression since 2014, according to a report by Freedom House.
More governments are committing more acts of transnational repression around the world, turning to violence and other brutal tactics to silence dissent beyond their borders, said the report.
The study finds that 20 governments committed 79 incidents of physical transnational repression in 2022, with Djibouti and Bangladesh emerging as perpetrator states for the first time.

The report also finds that at least 854 direct, physical incidents of transnational repression have been committed by 38 governments in 91 countries since 2014, including assassinations, abductions, assaults, detentions, and illegal deportations.

The governments of China, Turkey, Tajikistan, Russia and Egypt ranked as the most prolific perpetrators of transnational repression.

“Despite growing awareness of the problem, more authoritarian governments are attempting to exert control over diaspora and exile communities,” said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House.

“This latest research shows that the threat posed by transnational repression is not going away, and that democratic societies must work harder to protect themselves and their fundamental values.”

The government of Turkey has carried out 132 incidents of transnational repression. Ankara has abducted more people via renditions than any other state in the database, and this practice continued in 2022, with two new kidnappings from Ukraine and Azerbaijan, the report noted.

“People who criticize authoritarian regimes, whether they are professional journalists or ordinary citizens, are often singled out for harassment and even violence,” said Yana Gorokhovskaia, the report’s coauthor and Freedom House’s research director for strategy and design.

“The world cannot allow these repressive governments to restrict media freedom and personal expression abroad even as they shut down independent outlets at home.”