Transnational Repression: a Threat to Rights and Security in the
United States
Written Testimony by Annie Wilcox Boyajian
Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, Freedom House
House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Counterterrorism,
Law Enforcement, and Intelligence hearing
Safeguarding Dissident Voices: Addressing Transnational Repression Threats to Homeland Security
January 17, 2024
Chairman Pfluger, Ranking Member Magaziner, and distinguished members of this subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I ask that my full remarks be entered into the record.
Transnational repression defined
Transnational repression occurs when states reach across borders to silence dissent from activists,
journalists, and others living in exile. Perpetrator states do so using intimidation and violence. This
issue presents a direct threat to rights and security around the world, including here in the United
States, and will require a coordinated response from across the US government and between the
United States and other democratic governments.
From 2014 through 2022, Freedom House has collected information on 854 direct, physical
incidents (assassination, kidnapping, assault, detention, or deportation) of transnational repression
around the world, committed by 38 governments in 91 countries. During this time, 13 states have
engaged in assassinations abroad, and 30 have conducted renditions.
These numbers are likely only the tip of the iceberg when indirect tactics are also factored in.
Indirect tactics include the use of spyware, surveillance, threats sent over social media or by phone,
or threats and violence against family members back home, which is known as coercion by proxy.
According to our database, the top ten perpetrators of transnational repression globally are China,
Turkey, Tajikistan, Egypt, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Belarus, and Rwanda. Together,
these ten countries are responsible for 80 percent of the cases in our database. And China, which
conducts the most comprehensive and sophisticated campaign of transnational repression in the
world, is responsible for 30 percent of the cases.