"1. Increasing attacks on independent media globally are forcing journalists to flee their home countries. Working from abroad, these reporters remain crucial sources of information about some of the world’s most authoritarian countries. But safety in exile is not guaranteed.
2. At least 26 governments, including those of Belarus, Cambodia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, have targeted journalists abroad with transnational repression, putting their safety and work in serious peril.
3. Transnational repression against journalists includes assault, detention, kidnapping, and unlawful deportation, as well as serious limitations on freedom of movement resulting from these threats. It also entails the intimidation of journalists’ family members, digital harassment, smear campaigns, doxing, and other attempts to prevent truthful reporting.
4. These attacks have a devastating impact on journalists’ well-being, as well as their ability to deliver independent reporting. Exiled reporters struggle to maintain the contacts they need to cover stories. They face death threats, online harassment, and aggressive rhetoric from officials in origin countries. Often in precarious economic situations, they must also shoulder high monetary costs to overcome censorship, protect their digital and physical security, and navigate difficult immigration bureaucracies.
5. Despite these challenges, exiled journalists have developed strategies to keep working. But they need legal, financial, and operational support from host governments, civil society, and media organizations in order to continue to expose human rights violations around the world." (Key findings)