Authoritarian governments do not always stop at their own borders. Increasingly, they pursue journalists, activists, political opponents, and diaspora communities wherever they live. This practice is known as transnational repression, a growing global threat to press freedom, human rights, and democratic societies.
What is transnational repression?
Transnational repression refers to the actions taken by a government, or individuals acting on its behalf, to intimidate, silence, monitor, threaten, or harm people living outside that government’s territory because they are perceived as political opponents or critics. Unlike traditional domestic repression, it extends across international borders, targeting people who fled persecution, sought asylum, or continued their journalism or activism from exile. According to the Freedom House Transnational Repression Project, governments use these tactics to suppress dissent even after critics have left their home country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines it as foreign governments reaching beyond their borders to intimidate, silence, coerce, harass, or harm members of diaspora and exile communities.
Why does it matter?
For many journalists and human rights defenders, leaving an authoritarian country does not necessarily mean reaching safety. Governments increasingly exploit globalization, digital technology, international legal mechanisms, and diplomatic networks to keep targeting critics abroad — undermining freedom of expression, violating state sovereignty, and creating a climate of fear that discourages investigative journalism. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned that the practice has become more widespread in recent years, fueled by advances in digital surveillance and growing cooperation between authoritarian governments.
Who is targeted?
The most common targets include journalists reporting on corruption or human rights abuses, political dissidents living in exile, human rights defenders, democracy activists, members of ethnic or religious minority communities, academics and researchers, and family members of exiled critics. Journalists are especially vulnerable because their reporting often exposes corruption, abuses of power, or organized crime, making them frequent targets even after relocating abroad.
Common tactics
Transnational repression is not limited to high-profile assassinations; many of its methods are subtle, persistent, and psychological.
Physical violence. The most visible cases involve assassinations, attempted murders, kidnappings, physical assaults, and forced disappearances. These are relatively rare compared to other tactics but often attract international attention.
Digital surveillance. Governments monitor exiled critics through spyware, phone hacking, social media monitoring, phishing, location tracking, and cyberattacks against news organizations, frequently the first stage of a broader intimidation campaign.
Threats against family members. Authorities left behind may detain relatives, conduct interrogations, confiscate passports, freeze assets, or pressure family members to persuade the journalist to stop reporting. This indirect pressure can be psychologically devastating while leaving few visible signs of abuse.
Online harassment and disinformation. Exiled journalists frequently face coordinated campaigns of death threats, gender-based abuse, doxxing, false accusations, and state-backed trolling, aimed at damaging credibility and encouraging self-censorship.
Abuse of legal systems. Governments manipulate international legal and administrative tools through politically motivated extraditions, abusive lawsuits, passport cancellations, frozen assets, and misuse of policing tools such as INTERPOL notices. Freedom House describes this as “co-opting” institutions in democratic countries to achieve repressive goals.
Real-world examples
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 after years of criticizing the Saudi government from abroad, one of the most widely recognized cases of transnational repression. Other documented examples include Chinese authorities monitoring Uyghur activists overseas, Iranian journalists threatened while working in Europe and North America, Belarusian opposition activists abducted or forcibly returned from neighboring countries, and Russian dissidents facing surveillance and violent attacks outside Russia. Together, these cases show that transnational repression is a global phenomenon, not the practice of a single government.
How journalists can protect themselves
Many journalists assume exile guarantees safety, but evidence suggests otherwise. Awareness is the first step toward reducing vulnerability: recognizing warning signs early, documenting incidents, and building support networks with press freedom organizations. Beyond that, experts recommend practical measures such as strong digital security (encrypted communications, multi-factor authentication), limiting the public sharing of personal location information, keeping detailed records of threats, informing employers and trusted colleagues about harassment, and seeking legal help if abusive lawsuits or extradition requests arise. Risk assessments should also account for the safety of family members who remain in the country of origin.
Final thoughts
Transnational repression challenges the long-held assumption that crossing an international border guarantees safety. For journalists, exile often marks the beginning of a new set of risks rather than the end of persecution. Freedom House has documented hundreds of physical incidents over the past decade, while noting that many more cases involving surveillance, online harassment, and coercion likely go unreported. Recognizing how these tactics work and understanding the warning signs can help journalists, media organizations, and policymakers better protect press freedom across borders, as authoritarian governments grow more sophisticated in extending their reach abroad.