31/05/2026
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee ()'s definition of transnational repression directly implicates the Nigerian regime and the Finnish authorities in their actions against Biafran activists.
It is also important to note that Nigeria and Finland are the only countries that have designated Biafran activists as terrorists. Furthermore, during the shambolic trial of H.E. Simon Ekpa (), the Finnish prosecutor claimed/lied that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was arrested in Kenya. However, numerous international actors, including the governments of Kenya and Australia, as well as the United Nations, have stated that he was abducted from Kenya and subjected to extraordinary rendition to Nigeria.
These contradictions continue to fuel concerns about the credibility of the proceedings.
Once again, Finland should be ashamed of its role in this matter.
Please read below 👇🏿
PACE committee condemns ‘transnational repression’ and urges new laws to stop it
PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has condemned all forms of “transnational repression” – a form of foreign interference used by authoritarian regimes to repress political dissidents, journalists, human rights defenders and members of diaspora communities beyond their borders – and has urged new laws to prevent it.
In a draft resolution based on a report by Constantinos Efstathiou (Cyprus, SOC), the committee pointed out that US-based NGO Freedom House has identified 1,375 instances of physical transnational repression since 2014, perpetrated by 54 states and affecting 107 host states. Among the top ten perpetrators Freedom House lists China, Türkiye and Russia.
“Authoritarian regimes have found new ways to subjugate their opponents beyond their borders,” the parliamentarians said. “Such cases of transnational repression, whether involving the use of violence or the misuse of legitimate international co-operation tools, violate the rule of law and state sovereignty, infringe the human rights of the individuals targeted and pose a serious threat to national security.”
The committee proposed a clear definition of the term “transnational repression” – when a state acts to “intimidate, silence, harass, coerce, abduct, harm or kill individuals” beyond its borders – and listed some of the groups to whom it would apply.
Such repression can take various forms including assassination, abduction, unlawful surveillance, harassment of family members, doxxing and unwarranted designation as a terrorist or extremist, as well as the misuse of legitimate mechanisms such as INTERPOL notices, extradition requests or anti-money laundering measures.
States which “refuse to consider the political motivation” behind abusive INTERPOL Red Notices or extradition requests should be regarded as facilitating transnational repression, the committee said.
It proposed a number of measures to combat transnational repression, including through diplomatic engagement, the reform of INTERPOL, the application of targeted sanctions and the designation of domestic focal points responsible for shaping and co-ordinating state policy in this field. The Council of Europe should lead international efforts to offer a co-ordinated response, the parliamentarians said.
The report is due to be debated by the full Assembly at its June plenary session
Source: pace.coe.int/en/news/10317/…
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