Berlin Panel Exposes Rising Threats Against Exiled Journalists Abroad

Threatened, Intimidated, Harassed, Blocked, Hacked, and Censored: Exiled Journalists in Germany Face Relentless Attacks on Press and Free Speech

Even in Germany, journalists working for exile media outlets must repeatedly fight for their press and free expression rights, as they remain vulnerable to attacks from their home countries—even on foreign soil.

Cross-border digitalization has given authoritarian and dictatorial regimes powerful tools to suppress independent and critical reporting. Through targeted cyberattacks on websites and social media channels, as well as the use of surveillance software, these regimes extend their reach beyond national borders. This transnational repression is often accompanied by pressure on relatives back home and harassment by embassies against exiled media professionals in Germany.

Transnational repression is not just a personal threat to those affected—it also poses a challenge to democracy and the rule of law in Germany. How do victims cope with these attacks? What support do they need? What counterstrategies exist in Germany? And where must lawmakers, authorities, and journalists' associations take urgent action?

A discussion with: - Hannah Neumann, Member of the European Parliament (Berlin-Lichtenberg), EP rapporteur on transnational repression - Trung Khoa Lê, editor-in-chief of thoibao.de, a Vietnamese-language news site based in Berlin - Leyla Mustafayeva, editor-in-chief of Qazetci, an independent media outlet in Berlin

Moderated by: - Sven Hansen, Asia editor at our website and curator of Han Sens Asientalk