How to Combat Transnational Repression

Abstract: In October 2025, two men were sentenced for an Iranian-directed murder-for-hire plot against the exiled activist Masih Alinejad. Such accountability, the authors argue, remains the exception. As Iran and a growing roster of authoritarian states reach across borders to harass, abduct, and kill exiles and diaspora critics, justice is routinely thwarted by diplomatic immunity, the territorial limits of jurisdiction, and host governments' competing geopolitical interests—as the killing of Jamal Khashoggi illustrates. The authors map these accountability gaps and propose ways to close them: clarifying the extraterritorial reach of human-rights obligations, strengthening UN review mechanisms, and grounding responses in a consistent, country-agnostic approach that prioritizes victims' safety over a perpetrator's strategic weight. If these gaps persist, they warn, democracies will normalize authoritarian repression on their own soil and erode the rule of law.