4. The Assembly is also concerned about the fate of anti-war protesters and those fleeing forced militaryservice in the Russian Federation, in the context of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression againstUkraine and the wave of increasing repression within its borders. These people fleeing the RussianFederation may become new targets of Russian transnational repression, particularly if they are unable toresettle safely or face obstacles applying for asylum in other countries.

5. The Assembly is also extremely worried about Belarus. The diversion and forced landing in Minsk ofRyanair flight 4978 on 23 May 2021 to arrest journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and hiscompanion Sofia Sapega, using a false bomb threat, should be condemned as a particularly heinous form oftransnational repression akin to air piracy. Belarus was reportedly responsible for 31% of the transnationalrepression incidents recorded in 2021. Some of the opposition leaders and protesters who fled Belarusfollowing Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s fraudulent re-election in 2020, particularly those who fled to the RussianFederation, were subject to unlawful deportations or renditions to Belarus, which shows how the RussianFederation facilitated Belarus’ campaign of transnational repression.

6. The Assembly is concerned about the fact that Türkiye has also used some of the tools of transnationalrepression, particularly following the coup attempt of July 2016 and its consistent policy of pursuing amongstothers anyone allegedly related to the “Gülen movement”, which is referred to as the “Fetullahist TerroristOrganisation (FETÖ)” by the Turkish authorities. The Turkish campaign has been found to rely on renditions,abuse of extradition proceedings, Interpol Red Notices and anti-terror financing measures, and co-optingother States to deport or transfer persons unlawfully. In this respect, the European Court of Human Rightsfound that in 2018 the Republic of Moldova had illegally transferred seven teachers of Turkish nationality toTürkiye, circumventing all guarantees offered by domestic and international law and therefore breaching theirright to liberty guaranteed by Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Similar findings have been made bythe United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding transfers from other territories, includingoutside Europe. Turkish Government critics and journalists living in other member States have reportedlyfaced threats and intimidation, sometimes requiring police protection by the authorities of the host State.

7. The Assembly further notes that Azerbaijan has also been accused of using certain transnationalrepression techniques such as renditions and cross-border abductions, mainly against journalists. SomeAzerbaijani journalists and opposition activists living abroad have reportedly been subject to threats andassaults. The European Court of Human Rights has recently found Azerbaijan responsible for an extra-legaltransfer to Türkiye in circumvention of domestic and international law safeguards.

8. The Assembly condemns all forms and practices of transnational repression, including those directlyperformed by an origin State outside its borders and those where an origin State co-opts other States to actunlawfully against a targeted person in their own territory. It considers that these practices not only violatenumerous non-derogable and fundamental human rights of the individuals targeted but are also a threat to therule of law, democracy and national security of the States where those individuals live and have found refuge.Acts of transnational repression that are performed by member States and those that occur or have effects intheir territories undermine the values and principles which the Council of Europe stands for.

9. The Assembly considers that acts of transnational repression constitute breaches of internationalhuman rights law, first and foremost of the Convention. It recalls that the Convention applies to extra-territorialviolations and that targeted violations of the human rights of an individual by one Contracting State in theterritory of another Contracting State undermine the effectiveness of the Convention both as a guardian ofhuman rights and as a guarantor of peace, stability and the rule of law in Europe.

10. This also applies to extra-territorial violations perpetrated by a member State outside the Conventionlegal space. Extra-judicial killings, assaults, enforced disappearances, forced renditions and abductionsviolate Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of torture) and 5 (right to liberty) of the Convention. Proceduralobligations to investigate and punish the authors of such violations may arise with regard to the perpetratorState, the host State, or both. In addition, there is a duty of co-operation between member States intransnational cases involving serious breaches of human rights.

11. The Assembly recalls that host States have a positive obligation to protect individuals within theirjurisdiction from acts of transnational repression, by providing specific protection to identified targets in case ofreal and immediate risks, and by not conniving in violations committed by foreign agents on their territory.Host States also have the obligation, in accordance with the principles of non-refoulement and legality, not torender, transfer, deport or extradite persons vulnerable to transnational repression, including through the useof extra-legal channels, particularly if there is a real risk of a violation of one of the core Convention rights bythe requesting State.

Resolution 2509 (2023)

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