2023-12-06T20:09:00+00:00
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/ The American organization Freedom House stated in a report published on Wednesday that authoritarian countries target journalists abroad, as part of a campaign of repression against their citizens outside their borders.
The report revealed that the organization counted in approximately ten years, that is, between the years 2014 and 2023, “112 physical acts within the framework of transnational acts of repression against journalists committed by 26 governments,” including the governments of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Belarus, and China, to… Along with Pakistan and Cambodia, it targeted journalists abroad with what it described as “transnational repression,” putting them at serious risk.
According to the organization, the campaign of “transnational repression” has returned to the forefront, in light of the insistence of authoritarian regimes on imposing their coercive measures on their citizens abroad.
The concept of “transnational repression” appeared with the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in his country’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, according to Freedom House.
“As attacks on free and independent media increase around the world, more journalists are forced to work in exile and face an increasing threat of transnational repression in their new homeland,” the report said.
However, the organization stressed that “this data reflects only a small part of this phenomenon, as many incidents were not recorded or were very difficult to verify.”
“This is an important moment to study the specific targeting of journalists, because more and more of them are fleeing repression in their countries,” Jessica White, one of the report’s authors, told AFP.
US Deputy Attorney General Eun Young Choi said last Friday, “With regard to transnational repression, we see a variety of attacks: from content moderation to harassment and obfuscation, and even plans to recruit hired killers against Americans on American soil.”
In this speech, delivered two days after a plan to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was revealed, she noted a “worrying increase in transnational acts of repression” by foreign governments “to undermine freedom of expression and punish their critics and opponents, including in the diaspora.” United State”.
For her part, Jessica White stressed that in order to protect targeted journalists in exile, “the first step is to acknowledge that the matter constitutes a particular threat, in order to make all police agencies aware of it.”
She added that their physical security must also be guaranteed, citing the example of the United Kingdom and Norway, “where people who are exposed to physical threats receive watches equipped with warning devices.”
Among the recommendations for democratic countries, Freedom House calls for “targeted, coordinated and multilateral sanctions against the perpetrators and sponsors of transnational repression against journalists in exile.”
In this context, the organization expressed its hope to “ban visas and freeze assets,” according to the researcher.
Source: Al Hurra