This event is part of the series “Fundamental Rights in Practice” hosted by the Hertie School’s Centre for Fundamental Rights.
Transnational repression refers to the practice where governments extend their reach beyond national borders to commit human rights abuses against their nationals or former nationals, aiming to silence or deter dissent. Methods of transnational repression include killings, unlawful removals (such as expulsions, extraditions, and deportations), abductions and enforced disappearances, targeting of relatives, abuse of consular services, and digital transnational repression, which involves using technology to surveil or harass individuals.
This event invites the audience to delve into the complex issue of transnational repression through a screening of the award-winning documentary How Iran Targets Activists Everywhere (2024). The film uncovers the tools of digital authoritarianism employed by Iran, particularly in the context of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, to intimidate and suppress activists in Germany using both conventional and unconventional tactics to stifle dissent.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Stan Aron and Ida Reihani as well as Tobias B. Bacherle, Member of the German Bundestag and Chairman of the Committee for Digital Affairs and Dr. Marcus Michaelsen, Senior Researcher at The Citizen Lab. the Discussion will be chaired by Grażyna Baranowska, Professor of Migration Law and Human Rights at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and a former Senior Researcher at the Centre for Fundamental Rights.
