WRITTEN EVIDIECNE SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS

(TRUK0065)

I am submitting a statement to the Transnational Repression Parliamentary Inquiry because I have been excluded from the church because of I openly opposed to the Eritrean regimes brutal and oppressive polices to our people.

Also they isolated me from the community, the most painful thing is they even tell my kids and girl friend like we are not from Eritrea and we don’t belong to the community. So we are suffering by the regimes strength hunds physically and mentally.

Like many others, I was forced to leave my homeland due to persecution, repression, and the constant threat to my safety. However, despite seeking refuge in the UK, I continue to face threats, intimidation, and harassment orchestrated by the current totalitarian Eritrean regime and its supporters. These agents of repression operate within diaspora communities, using fear tactics, surveillance, and coercion to silence those who speak out against the regime.

The methods of repression are varied and relentless. Supporters of the regime actively monitor and report on dissidents in exile, using intelligence networks to track our movements, intimidate us, and threaten our families back home. Many of us are blackmailed into silence with the knowledge that speaking out could result in severe consequences for our loved ones, including imprisonment, forced disappearances, and torture. Even in the UK, where we sought safety and freedom, we are not free from the reach of the regime.

These oppressive tactics extend beyond mere threats; they include economic coercion, social ostracization, and even physical violence. For example, individuals refusing to pay the unlawful 2% diaspora tax imposed by the Eritrean government face blacklisting, preventing them from returning to see family or even repatriating their remains in the event of death. Additionally, pro-regime organizations and institutions—sometimes disguised as cultural or religious groups—are used to enforce loyalty, spread propaganda, and intimidate those who resist.

I am deeply concerned about the lack of protection available to individuals like me. Despite fleeing persecution, the UK’s current policies do not provide adequate safeguards against transnational repression. Many of us continue to live in fear, feeling that our concerns are not taken seriously or that our reports of harassment are dismissed due to a lack of awareness or understanding of the issue. This failure to act enables authoritarian regimes to extend their control beyond their borders, undermining the very principles of democracy and human rights that the UK stands for.

I urge the UK government to take stronger measures to safeguard those who are targeted by transnational repression, ensuring that [regime/government] and its agents cannot continue their harmful actions in the UK. This includes formally recognizing and defining transnational repression, increasing protection for victims, and taking decisive action against individuals and organizations that act as enforcers of authoritarian rule. Only by implementing concrete policies and coordinated enforcement efforts can the UK truly uphold its commitment to protecting those who have fled persecution and ensure that no one is forced to live under the shadow of fear, even in exile.

(Feb 2025)