Council of Europe warns of sharp rise in 'transnational repression'
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Council of Europe has warned that a sharp rise in cross-border repression by authoritarian governments is posing a direct threat to national sovereignty and international law.
A new report by the Strasbourg-based human rights body says at least 54 states are actively targeting dissidents, journalists, and campaigners living abroad.
The report was prepared by Constantinos Efstathiou, a Cypriot parliamentarian and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) representing the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (SOC). The draft resolution itself was approved and adopted by the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, which called on European states to take coordinated action and implement legislative reforms to protect political exiles from persecution by authoritarian regimes.
According to data compiled since 2014, there have been 1,375 documented cases of physical transnational repression, with China, Türkiye, and Russia identified as the most frequent offenders.
The report warns that the lack of a common legal definition for transnational repression has allowed many cases to go underreported, meaning the documented figures represent only a fraction of the actual total.
Physical threats and the 'power of fear'
The tactics used by autocratic states range from administrative hurdles to physical violence and targeted assassinations on European soil.
In one case, Spanish intelligence services concluded that the killing of former Russian military pilot Maxim Kuzminov in Spain was a targeted assassination ordered by Moscow. Kuzminov was found with multiple gunshot wounds in Villajoyosa.
Other high-profile incidents detailed in the report include a hammer attack on Leonid Volkov, an aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Lithuania, and the stabbing of Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati in London.
The report also highlights the case of Emin Huseynov, an independent Azerbaijani journalist, who reported being followed and stalked by unknown operatives in Geneva in February 2026 after publicly questioning President Ilham Aliyev.
The government of Azerbaijan has consistently denied allegations of targeting critics abroad, maintaining that such claims are baseless and that the state strictly adheres to international law.
Abuse of Interpol and bank checks
The report details how autocracies are increasingly abusing international systems, such as Interpol "red notices" and anti-money laundering regulations, to harass exiles.
Anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland in July 2024 following a red notice issued by Japan, while Belarusian filmmaker Andriy Hniot was detained in Serbia for a year over tax evasion allegations before his release in October 2024.
Furthermore, the report highlights "financial exclusion" as a growing threat, where dissidents are falsely blacklisted in automated compliance databases like World-Check.
Mehmet Baltaci, a businessman based in London, had 10 of his bank accounts closed after being inaccurately labelled as a national security risk. Under strict banking regulations, financial institutions are restricted from disclosing why an account has been flagged, leaving victims with little legal recourse.
'Document weaponisation'
Authoritarian regimes are also using bureaucratic measures to force critics to return home to hostile environments.
A decree issued by Belarus in September 2023 forces citizens to return to the country to renew their passports, leaving children born abroad undocumented and unable to access basic public services. Turkmenistan has employed similar tactics to target activists abroad.
In the Schengen Area, the case of Lyudmyla Kozlovska highlighted the misuse of security databases, after she was denied entry to Belgium based on unverified national security alerts submitted by Polish authorities.
Calls for unified action
The Council of Europe is urging European governments to adopt a "whole-of-government" approach to counter the threat, pointing to the United States' Transnational Repression Policy Act as a model.
Among its recommendations, the body calls for:
The adoption of a common legal definition of transnational repression to improve reporting and data collection
The criminalisation of extraterritorial surveillance and harassment as distinct offences
Reforms to Interpol to increase transparency and protect against politically motivated notices
Targeted "Magnitsky-type" sanctions to freeze assets and restrict travel for officials involved in cross-border harassment
Pressure on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to "grey list" states that systemically abuse financial compliance regulations to target critics
The report concludes that implementing these measures is essential to ensure that countries offering sanctuary remain safe havens for those fleeing persecution.
Comments