THREATS AGAINST PROPERTY RIGHTS State authorities confiscate property and freeze assets of emigrants and diaspora activists to punish them for criticizing or opposing the regime. For example, Iranian authorities, in an August 2017 court order, accused 152 staff members and contributors of the BBC Persian service of acting against national security and froze their assets inside the country. This prevented current and former BBC employees from Iran to buy or sell property, claim family inheritance, and conduct other administrative affairs.76 Similarly, the Syrian government has seized land, houses, and capital of citizens associated with the opposition movement who fled the country during the course of the civil war. In doing so, the regime destroys official property documentation and the assets fall into the hands of the government for redistribution to the advantage of its supporters. This process thus excludes parts of the population from any process of reconstruction, effectively preventing their return and banning them from the territory as a form of punishment for their lack of loyalty.77 Property confiscations in Syria have also specifically targeted political activists, journalists, and intellectuals (partly using broadly formulated counter-terrorism legislation). Law No. 10, passed in 2018, entitles the government to expropriate residential areas for the purpose of reconstruction. This law, however, has been applied predominantly to neighborhoods known for their opposition to the regime. In sum, an overview of the most prevalent tools of transnational repression reveals that regimes no longer need to rely on direct physical harm, abductions, or assassinations when attempting to silence critics abroad. Such drastic interventions are not only logistically hard to implement, but can also incur a deterioration of relations with the country hosting targeted dissidents, reputation loss, and other costs. Regimes today operate on a different level of repression when intimidating and harassing diaspora activists, maintaining persistent pressure and permeating targets’ everyday routines. Digital technologies have extended the reach and intensity of regime threats across borders. The principal aim of these practices is to silence and punish outspoken dissidents in exile as well as to undermine their cross-border ties by spreading insecurity and mistrust in transnational networks. 76 Rahimpour, R. (2017, August 15). Iran judiciary freezes assets of BBC Persian staff. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/ world-middle-east-40936023. 77 Alrwishdi, D., & Hamilton, R. (2018, April 12). Paying Attention to Land Rights in Syria Negotiations. Just Security. https://www. justsecurity.org/54781/paying-attention-land-rights-syria-negotiations; Human Rights Watch (2019, June 28). Rigging the System: Government Policies to Co-Opt Aid and Reconstruction Funding in Syria. https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/06/28/ rigging-system/government-policies-co-opt-aid-and-reconstruction-funding-syria; Omari, M. (2019, April 15). Syria’s Land Looting Campaign for Reconstruction. Enab Baladi. https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2019/04/ syrias-lands-looting-campaign-for-reconstruction. 23