The report said Turkey also exploited international security systems as well as cooperation with other countriesвЂ™ security and intelligence agencies.

Freedom House data show that between 20, Turkey came second only to China in terms of the number of acts of physical transnational repression вЂ“ 123. When the origin state is a friendly nation, Turkey silences activism and endangers the already vulnerable,вЂќ the report noted.ДЄccording to the report, Turkey uses international repression to silence dissent beyond its borders. вЂњWhen the origin state using transnational repression is an adversary, Turkey protects the targeted and punishes the perpetrators. The report said President Recep Tayyip ErdoganвЂ™s governmentвЂ™s foreign policy goals influence domestic policy, as Turkey gets closer to China and tries to mend relations with Middle Eastern countries after years of tension. Police raids, arrests and threats of deportation to China are frequent. вЂњ Defending Democracy in Exile: Understanding and Responding to Transnational RepressionвЂњ, published on Thursday, said Turkey became a more dangerous place in 2021 for people targeted by foreign regimes, particularly China and Turkmenistan.Дue to common cultural, religious and linguistic traditions, as many as 50,000 Uyghurs from China live in Turkey today вЂ“ but the community remains vulnerable to BeijingвЂ™s reach. вЂњIncidents of transnational repression that took place in Turkey accounted for a quarter of the total recorded by Freedom House last year,вЂќ the report said. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHINДЇreedom HouseвЂ™s latest report on international repression says that while Turkey hosts many victims of transnational repression, it is also one of the worst perpetrators of such repression globally.

A man walks under the Turkish flag during a curfew in the COVID-19 pandemic in Istanbul, May 23, 2020.

Freedom house