DEFENDING
DEMOCRACY IN EXILE
Policy Responses to
Transnational Repression
CASE STUDY
Turkey
T
urkey has been a place of refuge for individuals fleeing repression in neighboring countries and
is home to many Uyghurs, one of the diasporas most at risk today of transnational repression.
At the same time, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has repeatedly employed tactics
of transnational repression—including extradition, kidnapping, surveillance, and harassment—to
target political opponents around the world. While Turkey’s use of transnational repression abroad
may suggest an absence of protections at home, the migration service, security agency, and police
have shown the ability to effectively respond to the threat of extraterritorial violence. However,
the degree of protection for vulnerable people is significantly influenced by changing currents
in Turkey’s relationships with other states, including neighboring countries with authoritarian
governments. In choosing to prioritize foreign policy aims over building domestic resilience, Turkey
does not provide durable safety for exiles and diasporas.
Best practices in Turkey’s response to transnational repression
•
Intelligence and law enforcement bodies coordinate to warn and protect some individuals at
risk of being targeted by transnational repression.
•
Special migration pathways, including humanitarian permanent residency, are available to
diasporas at risk of transnational repression.
•
The government has demonstrated that it is capable of creating accountability for
transnational repression through the application of domestic criminal law.
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan and
Saudi Arabia’s Crown
Prince Mohammed bin
Salman greet each other
on April 28, 2022 as
the two governments
work to improve their
relationship, which
has been tense since
the extraterritorial
assassination of
Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi in
Istanbul. Photo credit:
Bandar Aljaloud/AP via
Shutterstock.