OUT OF SIGHT, NOT OUT OF REACH The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression Direct attacks Direct attacks are the most visible examples of transnational repression. Assassinations, assaults, disappearances, and violent forced renditions silence the target through physical compulsion. Although these extreme tactics may seem rare, in fact they are quite widespread. Freedom House identified 26 transnational assassinations or assassination attempts since 2014, linked to 12 origin states in Asia, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. And 26 origin states around the world have committed renditions in the last six years, returning more than 160 people illegally with no due process or only the barest fig leaf. the Gülen movement from abroad since 2016, and ministers in the government have spoken about it on the floor of the parliament.35 Following each of several renditions of Iranian exiles abroad in the last year, Iranian media has proclaimed them successful intelligence activities.36 Just as the effect of direct attacks is much larger than the effect on the direct target, so is the effort behind it. Assassinations, assaults, and renditions are the highly visible outcomes of complex and coordinated diplomatic, coercive, and espionage activities against exiles. Co-opting other countries Freedom House identified 26 transnational assassinations or assassination attempts since 2014, linked to 12 origin states in Asia, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. The effect of direct attacks reaches far beyond the silencing of the individual killed, assaulted, or kidnapped. As a human rights defender from Chechnya told Freedom House, “I already understand any day could be my last. I know very well what they did and who they are.”33 The ability to physically reach an individual sends a message to others abroad that they could be targeted as well. Regimes that engage in transnational repression are aware of this ripple effect. Some leaders are willing to walk right up to the line of claiming credit for assassinations. For instance, following the murder of Rwanda’s former interior minister Seth Sendashonga in Kenya in 1998, Rwandan president Paul Kagame said, “I don’t have much to say about that, but I’m not going to offer any apologies.”34 States openly use renditions, on the other hand, to display their power and to warn others abroad against engaging in opposition activities. Forced confessions and “perp walks” are regular events in origin countries that conduct renditions, acting as a warning to others, a tool to humiliate the victim, and a validator for the country’s security apparatus. For example, Turkey’s state media has repeatedly celebrated the intelligence services for abducting members of 10 @FreedomHouse A significant part of the transnational repression toolkit hinges on co-opting other countries’ institutions to detain, deport, or render individuals. A request for extradition or the submission of purported “national security information” in an asylum case that results in detention creates opportunities to have the target eventually returned to the country. Even when detentions do not lead to the individual’s return, they disrupt the target’s life, create stress and trauma, impose severe financial penalties from lost work and legal fees, and intimidate the target’s network. Such “legal” mechanisms for detention often operate in coordination with other forms of back channel pressure on the host country to deport the individual. Detentions and unlawful deportations account for 62 percent of all cases compiled for this report. Many renditions also fall into a gray area between a direct attack and co-optation. Whereas some renditions are archetypal kidnappings without the involvement of the host country, co-optation renditions involve a “fig leaf” of legal process, such as the revocation of a residence permit or a pro forma court hearing that deems the individual a national security threat to the host country. For instance, Turkey’s rendition program since 2016 has mostly consisted of incidents in which local police or intelligence agencies suddenly detain exiles on a pretext, hold them incommunicado or with restricted access to counsel, and then quickly hand them over to Turkish intelligence agents who fly them back to Turkey. There may be some of the proceedings of a deportation, but the lack of due process and the short time span indicate these are meaningless. Often, countries that successfully achieve illegal renditions will highlight international cooperation as a legitimizing measure. For instance, after the rendition of Rwandan political activist Paul Rusesabagina from Dubai by Rwanda’s #TransnationalRepression