It is the first global-scale investigation on how some governments grind down democracies and influence diaspora and exiles who live beyond their sovereignty. The report (pdf) released by Freedom House on Feb. 2 reveals that 31 origin states are conducting “physical transnational repression”—including through detention, assault, physical intimidation, unlawful deportation, rendition, or suspected assassination—in 79 host countries. The 31 origin states include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Venezuela. Of the 31 states that engage in the physical methods of repression, at least 26 also use nonphysical, “everyday” tools, including digital threats, spyware, and coercion by proxy, such as the imprisonment of exiles’ families. An estimated 3.5 million people worldwide are targeted for assault on a daily bases—including in democracies like Canada, the …