A new report from Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO that researches democracy, political freedom and human rights, says Canada is one of many countries whose citizens are being harassed, hounded and–sometimes–violently threatened in their homelands and overseas by hostile regimes.
Entitled “Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach: Understanding Transnational Repression,” the report is being billed as the first broad attempt to provide a global overview of the threat of foreign interference by hostile regimes.
The report says a “worldwide pattern of violence and intimidation meant to squelch dissent” can be seen in its study of 31 countries targeting hundreds of victims in 79 other states.”
It names six countries that are undermining democracy: China, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia and Turkey.
According to Freedom House, some 3.5 million people around he world have been attacked directly or through “secondary tactics of intimidation and coercion” that then sends ripples through diaspora communities.
“The scale and violence of these attacks underscore the danger that people face even after they flee repression,” Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz says in a press release accompanying the report.
“Exiles around the world describe surveillance, assault, or even kidnapping and assassination as a constant threat that limits their ability to speak freely. Stopping transnational repression is vital to protecting democracy and rolling back authoritarian influence.”
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, is pictured 2018. Saudi Arabia is one of six countries that a new report says are attempting to undermine democracy in countries around the world, including Canada. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)
A report by The Canadian Press’s Mike Blanchfield published today details examples the report cites that involve Canada–beginning in last August when a former Saudi intelligence officer, Saad al-Jabri, who lives in Canada, filed a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and others for threatening to kill him and detain his family members to force him back to Saudi Arabia.
“In his lawsuit, al-Jabri alleges that a group of Saudi nationals stopped at the Canadian border were carrying the equipment needed to dismember a corpse. Al-Jabri’s allegations represent a familiar pattern of escalatory targeting, involving multiple means of repression against a single person,” the report says.
“The report dovetails with previous accounts of Chinese nationals living in Canada who have complained of harassment by Chinese government agents,” Blanchfield writes, adding that Freedom House “makes clear that some Uighurs who have sought sanctuary in Canada have not found it.”
The Freedom House report notes that Tibetans in the United States and Canada have been subjected to “intimidation and espionage by Chinese agents,” including by a New York City police officer of Tibetan descent who was arrested in September 2020 for working with Chinese officials to spy on the Tibetan community.
“The case resembles recent incidents of surveillance and intimidation of Tibetans in Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada. The same top-shelf spyware used against Uighurs has also been used in campaigns against Tibetans,” the report says.
The report, writes Blanchfield, found that Chinese intimidation extends beyond the government to a network of proxy entities called ‘anti-cult’ associations, including Chinese student groups in Canada.
“The proxies have taken part in harassment and physical attacks against Communist party critics and members of religious ethnic minorities, the report states.
“The greater distance from official Chinese government agencies offers the regime plausible deniability on the one hand, while accomplishing the goal of sowing fear and encouraging self-censorship far from China’s shores on the other,” the report says.
The report also takes aim at Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame.
“Rwandans abroad experience digital threats, spyware attacks, family intimidation and harassment, mobility controls, physical intimidation, assault, detention, rendition, and assassination,” the report says.
“Rwandans as far-flung as the United States, Canada, and Australia report intense fears of surveillance and retribution. The cases documented by Freedom House represent a small fraction of alleged incidents, but provide a useful window into the extent and methods of the Rwandan government’s campaign.”
The full report can be read here.
With files from The Canadian Press (Mike Blanchfield)
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