Georgia has joined the group of countries carrying out transnational repression, the international organization Freedom House says in its 2025 monitoring report.
Freedom House says it documented 126 new cases of direct, physical transnational repression in 2025, bringing the total recorded cases between 2014 and 2025 to 1,375.
“The group of governments carrying out repression has expanded,” the organization states. “Six new states — Afghanistan, Benin, Georgia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe — have been identified as using transnational repression tactics.”
The report adds that, as of 2025, at least 54 governments — more than a quarter of countries globally — have attempted to silence dissidents abroad.
Freedom House notes that most cases last year were carried out by autocratic governments in Southeast Asia and East Africa.
Detention was the most common method, with 49 cases, followed closely by illegal deportation with 48 cases.
“In at least 11 cases of detention or illegal deportation, repressive governments were able to use Interpol notices against exiled dissidents,” the report states. “This suggests that reforms to the organization have not yet eliminated avenues for abuse.”
The organization adds that while awareness of transnational repression has increased among democratic governments, protection remains inconsistent.
“Governments continue to facilitate transnational repression through loopholes in immigration systems and, despite the risks, return exiled activists and dissidents to their countries of origin,” the report says.
