Another way manipulation can occur is through foreign intelligence agencies providing false information for our asylum and immigration processes. A recent disturbing case of this was documented by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). OCCRP obtained a confidential FBI memorandum concerning the case of Leopold Munyakazi, a Rwandan scholar who had applied for asylum, in which the FBI found that the US examination of his asylum process was compromised by Rwandan intelligence. Munyakazi was nonetheless deported and is currently imprisoned in Rwanda. Recent developments and future risks A recent and worrying development is the extraterritorial repression of reporters. As the space for free media and dissent has closed in authoritarian countries, governments are increasingly reaching outward to target exiled journalists who continue to do their courageous work from abroad. Our new report released in December, titled A Light That Cannot Be Extinguished: Exiled Journalism and Transnational Repression, examines this issue more closely and describes the repressive toolkit used against target exiled journalists and media. At least 26 governments have targeted journalists, and 112 of the 854 cases in our database – thirteen percent of all cases – involved journalists. In our report, we interviewed exiled Cambodian, Uyghur, Turkish and other journalists in the United States who described the repercussions of transnational repression against them by the governments they left behind. Perpetrator states of transnational repression are innovating even as awareness of the problem in host countries grows. Moving forward, host governments and law enforcement must pay increasing attention to the role of diplomatic staff and proxy actors working on behalf of perpetrator states to intimidate exiles. Cases like the murder-for-hire scheme allegedly organized by an Indian government employee against a Sikh activist in New York City points to the involvement of criminal associates. Additionally, foreign governments, such as that of China, may continue to seek out private investigators to co-opt host state institutions and more easily reach targeted individuals. Progress so far There has been strong, bipartisan interest in addressing this issue here in the United States and a growing interest from democracies in Europe and elsewhere. The current administration has made addressing transnational repression a priority across agencies, with attention given by the National Security Council. We are pleased to see generally strong interagency coordination, and, as we understand it, increasing engagement between the Executive Branch and the Hill – something crucially important for an effective US response. Among the steps taken by the US government: The Department of Justice has been investigating and prosecuting a growing number of cases of transnational repression plotted against US persons. The Annie Wilcox Boyajian Freedom House January 17, 2023 3