Transnational repression in the United States The United States’ strong rule of law and active security sector lend a measure of protection against transnational repression. We know from our research that both are important factors in preventing transnational repression. Nonetheless, many communities in the US face serious and persistent threats, as my fellow witnesses can attest to firsthand and as we see in recent high-profile incidents on US soil. One of the most famous cases in the United States involves the Iranian regime’s plot to kidnap journalist and women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad from her home in Brooklyn. When that didn’t work, Iran attempted an assassination plot that was thankfully also unsuccessful. To this day, Alinejad lives under federal protection. Last November, peaceful demonstrators were physically assaulted in San Francisco during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit while protesting human rights violations by Xi Jinping and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Later that same month, federal authorities indicted and arrested an Indian national for alleged conspiracy to murder a Sikh activist based in Queens. It is common for activists we work with to receive threats over social media, to be surveilled or targeted for spyware, or for their family members back in their country of origin to be pressured, threatened, or even beaten up or jailed. Hong Kong-American Samuel Chu, who is wanted for arrest in Hong Kong due to his advocacy to the US Congress, discovered a drone hovering outside his apartment in California, apparently looking in his windows with a camera. In addition to threats from China, Iran, and India, there are substantial reasons to be concerned about threats towards US persons originating from an even broader set of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Turkey, Russia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Bangladesh. It is notable that this list includes a number of countries that can be considered allies or partners of the United States. There are likely other countries as well that are surveilling and intimidating individuals in the United States which we have not yet documented. An important aspect of the threat in the United States is the manipulation of our own institutions. One way this can occur is through Interpol abuse, which occurs when a country misuses Interpol’s notification systems to have someone detained on spurious charges. Interpol is now much more aware of the problem than a few years ago and has tried to make improvements to its internal processes, but some member states continue to try and abuse the system. We were pleased to note in September 2023 that ICE updated its guidance on Interpol to make this kind of abuse harder to perpetrate in the United States. Annie Wilcox Boyajian Freedom House January 17, 2023 2