(TRUK0059)

I am providing this statement to the Transnational Repression Parliamentary Inquiry to shed light on my experience as a victim of transnational repression and to highlight the ongoing threats faced by Eritrean exiles in the UK.

Like many others, I fled my country to escape persecution, systemic repression, and the constant danger posed by the Eritrean government. However, despite seeking refuge in the UK, I continue to experience intimidation, threats, and harassment orchestrated by the Eritrean regime and its supporters.

The Eritrean government extends its control beyond national borders through a well-organized network of loyalists embedded within diaspora communities. These agents use surveillance, coercion, and social pressure to silence critics, ensuring that fear follows exiles even in supposedly safe countries. Eritrean refugees in the UK face severe repercussions for speaking out, including threats against family members still in Eritrea, enforced disappearances, and imprisonment. Many are pressured into compliance through blackmail or the threat of being permanently cut off from their loved ones.

Beyond intimidation, the Eritrean regime employs economic and social coercion to maintain control. The illegal 2% diaspora tax is forcefully collected under duress, with consequences for those who refuse to pay, such as being denied consular services or the ability to return home, even in cases of family emergencies. Pro-regime organizations and cultural institutions, often masquerading as community or religious groups, serve as tools for spreading propaganda and enforcing loyalty among Eritreans in the UK. Those who resist face social isolation, public defamation, and, in some cases, physical violence.

Despite seeking protection in the UK, I, along with many others, have found that existing policies and law enforcement measures are inadequate in addressing transnational repression. Reports of harassment and threats often go unheeded due to a lack of awareness, leaving victims vulnerable and unprotected. The failure to act decisively emboldens authoritarian regimes like Eritrea’s to operate with impunity on British soil, undermining the UK’s commitment to human rights and democratic values.

I urge the UK government to take concrete action to combat transnational repression and protect individuals targeted by authoritarian states. This includes:

Officially recognizing transnational repression as a serious threat to national security and human rights.
Strengthening legal protections for victims and ensuring that law enforcement takes reports of intimidation and coercion seriously.
Investigating and holding accountable individuals and organizations acting on behalf of foreign regimes to harass or threaten refugees.
Prohibiting the collection of the unlawful 2% diaspora tax within the UK and ensuring that the Eritrean embassy and its affiliates cannot facilitate repression.

The UK must uphold its duty to protect those who have fled persecution by ensuring that no one is subjected to the long arm of an authoritarian regime while living in exile. Without decisive action, Eritrean refugees will continue to live under constant fear, unable to exercise their fundamental rights to freedom and safety even within the UK.

(Feb 2025)