As China and Iran hunt for dissidents in the US, the FBI is racing to counter the threat
As China and Iran hunt for dissidents in the US, the FBI is racing to counter the threat
American officials say foreign countries like China and Iran intimidate, harass and sometimes plot attacks against political opponents and activists in the U.S.
After a student leader of the historic Tiananmen Square protests entered a 2022 congressional race in New York, a Chinese intelligence operative wasted little time enlisting a private investigator to hunt for any mistresses or tax problems that could upend the candidate’s bid, prosecutors say.
“In the end,” the operative ominously told his contact, “violence would be fine too.”
As an Iranian journalist and activist living in exile in the United States aired criticism of Iran’s human rights abuses, Tehran was listening too. Members of an Eastern European organized crime gang scouted her Brooklyn home and plotted to kill her in a murder-for-hire scheme directed from Iran, according to the Justice Department, which foiled the plan and brought criminal charges.
The episodes reflect the extreme measures taken by countries like China and Iran to intimidate, harass and sometimes plot attacks against political opponents and activists who live in the U.S. They show the frightening consequences that geopolitical tensions can have for ordinary citizens as governments historically intolerant of dissent inside their own borders are increasingly keeping a threatening watch on those who speak out thousands of miles away.
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This appears to be the new norm among autocratic regimes (although it isn't all that new - think of Trotsky, for example, or the infamous umbrella murder).
Vietnam is doing this as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BB%8Bnh_Xu%C3%A2n_Thanh
https://rsf.org/en/dissident-exile-stops-blogging-because-family-vietnam-being-hounded
Eritrea, a regime that is similarly repressive as North Korea, but far less known, is also notorious for this:
Saudi Arabia is among the worst in this regard:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/saudi-arabia
I'm getting the impression that liberal democracies housing refugees and dissidents from autocratic regimes are unprepared to counter these threats. It is our responsibility to protect people seeking refuge and this includes proactive action against governments that seek to extend their violent rule outside of their borders.
India had a Sikh activist killed in Canada a year or so ago. And Modi predictably freaked out when publicly called out on it.
Arrests were recently made in that case.
I'm glad Canada called them out on that. Insane that they ordered a hit like that from within Canada.
I was so shocked when Trudeau publicly implicated the Indian government. They really must have solid proof of it for him to do so.