TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION IN A TIME OF WAR Russia’s devastating war against the people of Ukraine has intensified patterns of transnational repression in Ukraine, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. The full-scale invasion resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, human rights violations, and the mass displacement of millions of Ukrainians as well as many foreign nationals living in exile in Ukraine. Ukraine has a visa-free entry system for citizens of 81 countries and a vibrant native civil society that offers much-needed support for newcomers.2 Although government protection for foreign activists has often been only partial and few asylum seekers are able to secure permanent residency, the country has traditionally been an extremely attractive destination for dissidents and others fleeing the reach of autocrats. Moscow’s attack and the subsequent war made the dangers faced by people targeted by transnational repression in Ukraine more acute. Ersin Erkinuly, an ethnic Kazakh originally from the Xinjiang region, fled China in 2019 fearing internment in the government’s camps. In the four years since, Erkinuly has been unable to find safety abroad. While he was in migration detention in Ukraine in 2020 after coming to the country from Turkey, reports emerged that the Chinese Embassy in Kyiv was petitioning for his return.3 China is the world’s leading perpetrator of transnational repression, employing a wide array of tactics and targeting both groups and individuals. In Freedom House’s database, China is an origin country for 30 percent of all recorded incidents of physical transnational repression. After Russia’s invasion, Erkinuly fled Ukraine alongside other foreign nationals and filed for asylum in Poland. In July, he was detained by German migration officials, allegedly for illegally crossing the France-Germany border.4 The war has further exposed Erkinuly and others fleeing Chinese persecution to the threat of transnational repression, amplifying their inability to secure asylum and avoid protracted detention. Moscow’s invasion also led to worsening repression inside Russia, spurring a mass exodus. The Kremlin criminalized antiwar demonstrations, revised the criminal code to penalize the dissemination of “fake news” about the Russian military, and initiated a “partial mobilization” of men for military service. Although the precise number is difficult to identify, hundreds of thousands of citizens left the country as a result of these measures and others.5 While many were able to relocate safely, some were targeted abroad by Moscow. Top 10 Origin States The governments of these countries are responsible for 80 percent of all incidents of direct, physical transnational repression around the world recorded by Freedom House since 2014. Russia 46 Belarus 30 Turkmenistan 36 Uzbekistan 36 Turkey 132 Tajikistan 64 Egypt 45 Rwanda 18 2 China 253 Iran 23 Explore more at https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression #TransnationalRepression