Freedom House by the New York Times in 2021 revealed that members of the team that killed Jamal Khashoggi has previously received paramilitary training in the Unites States from a State Department contractor.59 The United States can also weigh human rights considerations, including evidence of persecution of political exiles, in making decisions about trade. In light of US trade relations with Egypt, including a recently announced arms sale worth $2.5 billion,60 Mohammed Soltan observed: “The sense of impunity is going to make them [the Egyptian government] get more and more emboldened because they’re always going to test the limits of what they can get away with.” Possibly the biggest challenge in terms of transnational repression for the Unites States and other democratic countries that are home to dissidents and political exiles is the impact of coercion by proxy, in which a person’s family, loved one, or business located in origin state is targeted. Even when the dissident is out of reach of direct violence or harassment, they continue to be vulnerable to transnational repression because other people close to them can be taken hostage by autocrats. Coercion by proxy is an incredibly “Whatever I do here, I always fear that my family will get punished.” potent tactic of transnational repression, and one that’s available to states that lack the resources to reach physically or digitally beyond their borders. It can lead self-censorship and takes an emotional toll on the victim. As one Saudi activist said: “If I say something and they want to shut me up me up but I’m here and they can’t get to me, they will pick one of my family members…Whatever I do here, I always fear that my family will get punished.” 61 The US government’s strategy for countering transnational repression should give specific consideration to addressing coercion by proxy. This should include social and psychological support for people targeted in the United States, as well as ways to account for coercion by proxy in existing tools for assessing the human rights practices of foreign states and imposing accountability for violations. freedomhouse.org 11