DEFENDING DEMOCRACY IN EXILE Policy Responses to Transnational Repression Dushanbe after his return.17 A number of other members of the Central Asian diaspora who engaged in activism while living in Russia were similarly expelled from the country without formal requests by the origin state. accommodating migration policies that provide access to legal residency. As many as 50, 000 Uyghurs live in the country today, but the community remains vulnerable to Beijing’s reach. The targeting of Belarusians and Tajikistanis in Russia demonstrates how the absence of human rights protections in a given country helps foreign governments gain access to dissidents in that country. Space for activism and dissent has shrunk drastically in Russia over the last decade. Severe restrictions on freedom of assembly that ban even single-person pickets, expansive “foreign agent” laws that cut civic groups off from all foreign funding, and the widespread criminalization of dissent via “extremism” laws have made it almost impossible for independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or individual activists to work inside the country. In this environment, Belarusian and Central Asian activists are as unprotected from state violence as their Russian counterparts. The Kremlin’s repression endangers not only Russian civil society, but also activists and human rights defenders from a range of other countries. In January 2021, several Uyghurs were detained by police in raids on their homes in Istanbul and threatened with deportation to China after participating in protests outside the Chinese embassy.20 The family of one man was told that he was being detained for “conducting activities against China.”21 In a separate incident later in the year, a number of Uyghurs were briefly detained by police after the Chinese embassy in Ankara complained about their protests.22 In March, a prominent Uyghur diaspora leader was confined to his home in Istanbul in order to prevent him from participating in a protest during a visit to Turkey by China’s foreign minister.23 Another Uyghur activist fled the country after seeing his name on a list—made public by Turkish authorities—of Uyghur residents who were wanted by Beijing. He flew to Morocco but was detained there in response to an Interpol notice.24 Turkey became more dangerous in 2021 for people targeted by foreign regimes—particularly those of China and Turkmenistan. Increasing danger for Uyghurs and Turkmenistani nationals in Turkey Turkey became more dangerous in 2021 for people targeted by foreign regimes—particularly those of China and Turkmenistan. Incidents of transnational repression that took place in Turkey accounted for a quarter of the total recorded by Freedom House last year.18 The Turkish government, which itself engages in transnational repression abroad and hosts large refugee and diaspora communities that are targeted by origin states,19 increasingly acted as an agent of other repressive governments, working to stifle exiles’ political activism in order to strengthen bilateral ties. Turkey has historically been an appealing destination for Uyghurs from China’s Xinjiang region because of shared cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions, as well as 6 @FreedomHouse It is difficult to determine whether the harassment of Uyghurs is being driven primarily by Beijing’s demands or Ankara’s own geopolitical and economic priorities. China’s economic investment in Turkey has grown significantly since 2016, through a combination of loans and infrastructural development projects associated with the Belt and Road Initiative.25 In 2017, Ankara and Beijing signed an extradition agreement that could facilitate the repatriation of Uyghurs if they are charged with terrorism.26 The treaty was formally ratified by Chinese authorities in late 2020, and it remains unratified but under consideration by the Turkish parliament. Although Turkish officials continue to raise the issue of the mistreatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with their Chinese counterparts,27 the rhetoric is far more muted than it was a decade ago.28 Exiled dissidents from Turkmenistan, one of the least free countries in the world,29 also found themselves less protected in Turkey in 2021. In response to pandemic-related restrictions on travel that affected their ability to renew passports, Turkmenistani activists living in Turkey mobilized to protest against the government of Turkmenistan. The Turkish government tried to prevent peaceful protests in front of Turkmenistan’s consulate in Istanbul, arrested those who gathered, and failed to protect others from physical assaults by consulate staff.30 Turkish authorities then began harassing activists by detaining them and threatening them #TransnationalRepression