Transnational Repression Reports
Transnational repression is a serious threat to human rights, democratic institutions, and state sovereignty, as well as a disturbing manifestation of global authoritarianism.
Latest Report
Although incidents of transnational repression continue to happen, awareness of this threat has grown substantially among democratic governments and at multilateral forums. Still, not all exiled dissidents have found effective protection after relocating abroad, and governments continue to enable transnational repression through flaws in their migration systems. Read our latest report, Collaboration and Resistance: Tracking Transnational Repression in 2025.
No Way In or Out: Authoritarian Controls on the Freedom of Movement
Authoritarian governments around the world are restricting freedom of movement in retribution for political activism and dissent, subjecting people to a variety of repressive tactics, including travel bans, revocation of citizenship, confiscation of passports.
Addressing Transnational Repression on Campuses in the United States
International students, visiting scholars, and faculty in the United States are being targeted by foreign governments and their agents. Learn more by reading our 2024 report.
A Light That Cannot Be Extinguished: Exiled Journalism and Transnational Repression
As attacks on free and independent media increase globally, more and more journalists are being forced to work from exile, and are increasingly facing the threat of transnational repression in their new homes abroad. Learn more by reading our 2023 report.
Still Not Safe: Transnational Repression in 2022
All over the world, individuals brave enough to speak out against repression are being targeted by autocrats who reach across borders to silence their voices. More than just a threat to individual activists, transnational repression is a tool of global authoritarianism.
Unsafe in America: Transnational Repression in the United States
Potential targets of transnational repression in the United States include people who support human rights and democracy in their former homelands, and those who advocate for the well-being of friends and family they left behind.
Defending Democracy in Exile: Policy Responses to Transnational Repression
Despite growing awareness of the problem, transnational repression remains a global threat to human rights and democratic values because few tools exist to protect its intended targets.
Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach: The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression
Freedom House's first report on transnational repression is the product of an effort to understand the scale and scope of in which governments reach across national borders to silence dissent among their diaspora and exile communities.
