Freedom House TRACKING PHYSICAL TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION Freedom House’s database contains information on 735 public, direct, physical incidents of transnational repression that happened between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2021. This number represents only a snapshot of the overall threat to human rights posed by global transnational repression. Analysis of these attacks against targeted individuals’ bodily autonomy provides key insights into how governments seek to silence dissent beyond their borders. • An ongoing and expanding threat: 85 new incidents of transnational repression were recorded in 2021. Four governments—those of Algeria, Belarus, Comoros, and Nigeria—attacked exiles abroad for the first time last year, bringing the total number of origin states to 36. The number of host countries, or countries where acts of transnational repression took place, rose from 79 to 84. • Top offenders: At 229, Chinese authorities perpetrated the most incidents of physical transnational repression. The government of Turkey follows with 123; while regimes in Tajikistan, Egypt, and Russia carried out 43, 42, and 41 attacks, respectively. The Uzbekistani state is responsible for 31 incidents since 2014, and the Turkmenistani state 30. Authorities in Belarus physically targeted people abroad 29 times—all in 2021. • • The danger of cooperation: Authoritarian governments work together to facilitate transnational repression. Both the host and the origin countries were rated Not Free by Freedom in the World in 58 percent of incidents from 2014 to 2020. In 2021, that percent rose to 74, in part due to Belarusian authorities’ aggressive pursuit of exiles, mostly in Russia. Uneven use of tactics: Detentions make up 42 percent of all incidents, followed by renditions (26 percent) and unlawful deportations (22 percent). Fourteen governments used Interpol notices to detain and forcibly return individuals, with Russia accounting for 31 percent of Interpol-related incidents in the database. Assassinations remain rare, with only 32 cases recorded. • Russian authorities’ campaign of violence: Assassinations are the hallmark of the Russian government’s transnational repression campaign. They make up a quarter of all transnational repression incidents committed by Russian authorities, and one third of assassinations globally are perpetrated by Russia. Putin’s government targets high-profile opponents abroad, while Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, leads a violent campaign against the Chechen diaspora more broadly, often relying on the Kremlin’s resources to execute attacks. • Leveraging accusations of terrorism: Authoritarian governments take advantage of other states’ concerns about terrorism to reach targets abroad and to provide cover for their abuses. More than half—53 percent—of incidents involve the perpetrator state accusing the targeted individual of terrorism or extremism. • Not just autocrats: While a majority of physical attacks are perpetrated by states rated Not Free by Freedom in the World, a number of governments from the Partly Free category have carried out attacks against nationals abroad. Nine states that perpetrated extraterritorial attacks in the past eight years were rated Partly Free at the time, though some were later downgraded to Not Free: Bhutan, Comoros, Kyrgyzstan, Venezuela, Turkey, Pakistan, Thailand, Kuwait, and Nigeria. India was rated Free when it rendered and detained exiles abroad in 2015, making it the only Free country to have engaged in transnational repression. India has since been downgraded to Partly Free. Additionally, authorities from several host countries rated Partly Free have cooperated with origin states to help them carry out acts of transnational repression. The attacks recorded in Freedom House’s database represent the tip of the iceberg, as nonphysical tactics like digital harassment and coercion by proxy were not tracked systematically. For more information about the project and database methodology, please visit https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/about-acknowledgements. freedomhouse.org 9