Dictatorships are sending a message: You can’t runApril 16, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. EDTYesterday at 8:30 a.m. EDT2 minTransnational repression — the practice of autocratic governments reaching outside their borders to harass and silence opponents — remained a global scourge in 2025, with a dark new twist: more dictatorships collaborating with each other to target dissenters.Those are among the findings of a report being released Thursday by Freedom House, which tabulated 126 cases of transnational repression in 2025 involving 30 countries that engaged in practices including cross-border assassinations, abductions and intimidation of dissidents living abroad.Democracies have taken steps to protect dissidents and other activists who seek refuge in their countries. But Freedom House warns that growing anti-immigration sentiment across Western countries and increased deportations put legitimate political refugees and asylum seekers at greater risk. Transnational repression is pervasive. Preventing it will require a more concerted and proactive response from countries that care about human freedom.