Transnational repression (TNR) takes place when governments reach beyond their own borders to silence dissent, targeting exiled journalists, human rights defenders, and other civil society members who have left their country of origin.

Governments across Central Asia are increasingly using criminal law, surveillance and restrictive legislation to target journalists, lawyers and independent civic actors.

The weaponization of foreign agent laws has become one of the go-to instruments of democratic backsliding across the globe and specifically in Europe and Eurasia.