Transnational Repression: RSF calls on the EU and its member states to join forces to protect journalists in exile

The European Parliament has adopted on Tuesday 16 June a resolution on Transnational Repression (TNR) which recognises that journalists in exile are not safe in Europe from the reach of authoritarian regimes - even in Europe. Dictatorships harass, threaten, and surveil journalists beyond their own borders, including in host states that are meant to offer them protection. The resolution analyses transnational repression as a complex threat to human rights and democracy, and is seeking to strengthen an EU response.

"Threats experienced by an exiled journalist in Bulgaria can just as easily happen to a reporter in Germany or France. Transnational repression does not stop at borders; including those of European host countries. It is high time that the EU and its member states act in a coordinated manner and protect the journalists who work everyday to defend our right to reliable information."

Noura Chalati, RSF Advocacy Officer

Journalists as targets of transnational repression

This is the second European Parliament report that addresses TNR as a human rights challenge. RSF contributed its expertise through a stakeholder consultation in Brussels and exchanges with the rapporteur MEP Hannah Neumann of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). RSF particularly welcomes the report's explicit call for stronger coordination between European and national authorities.

The report reflects two long-standing RSF priorities :

• Firstly, it recognises journalists as a particularly vulnerable target of transnational repression, and highlights the need for their protection.
• Secondly, it emphasises that attacks on exiled journalists constitute not merely individual human rights violations, but also on press freedom, and therefore attacks the democratic foundations of European states.

Despite these advances, RSF also identifies weaknesses.

• The report focuses primarily on Russia, China, Iran, and Belarus when discussing perpetrator states. While these countries are among the key actors engaging in transnational repression, this narrow focus risks creating the impression that TNR is largely limited to them. In reality, transnational repression is a global practice involving a significantly broader range of state actors.
• RSF also warns that while better coordination at EU level is necessary, it must not lead to member states shifting responsibility to Brussels. Protecting exiled journalists from TNR is already a national responsibility. Effective protection therefore requires both a coordinated European strategy and decisive action at the national level.

RSF's work to protect journalists in exile

Reporters Without Borders is committed to ensuring that journalists can continue their work even after fleeing into exile. Exiled media professionals play a vital role in exposing disinformation, thereby defending the European public's right to reliable information. RSF documents cases of transnational repression, advocates for stronger protection and provides direct assistance to journalists at risk.