A double issue this time, since we skipped May — and there’s plenty to catch up on. Our first visiting fellow has arrived in Berlin, the European Parliament put transnational repression on its agenda for the very first time, and the coalition we co-founded has been taking TNR straight to German police and institutions.
Our first visiting fellow has arrived
We’re delighted to welcome our very first visiting fellow to Berlin, under the temporary relocation programme we run in partnership with ProtectDefenders.eu. The fellow — a human rights defender from Central Asia — will spend the coming months continuing their work from the relative safety of Berlin, with accommodation and support provided through the programme.
This is a meaningful step for JAM: moving from research and advocacy on transnational repression to directly hosting and protecting people targeted by it. Two further defenders are expected to join us over the course of 2026.
A first for Europe: Parliament adopts its report on transnational repression
On 16 June, the European Parliament adopted its first comprehensive report on transnational repression — the work of rapporteur MEP Hannah Neumann — by 434 votes to 128, with 104 abstentions. It is the first time the EU has placed TNR squarely on its political agenda, with calls for a common European definition, an EU-wide monitoring and reporting mechanism, stronger protection for those targeted, and real accountability for the regimes responsible.
As a founding member of the Coalition Against Transnational Repression in Germany, JAM was proud to see the coalition rally behind the vote, contributing to the campaign around it. For everyone working to ensure that exile does not mean living under threat, this is a milestone worth marking.
Taking TNR to German institutions
May and June saw the coalition bring transnational repression directly to the table with German authorities. Coalition members met with the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA) to discuss how cases of TNR — including incidents that fall below the criminal threshold — can be reported and addressed, and to build working relationships with the police units now responsible for the issue.
In June, the coalition also held an exchange with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, opening conversations across several of its departments about how to strengthen Germany’s response to transnational repression. These quieter, relationship-building meetings are exactly how a phenomenon as under-recognised as TNR starts to get the institutional attention it needs.
Building the case for the EU HRD Directive
On 29–30 June, JAM took part in the Community of Advocates workshop in Berlin, organised by the Civil Society Forum and Araminta. The two-day gathering brought human rights defenders together to begin building a collective, HRD-led campaign for the proposed EU Directive on the mobility and protection of human rights defenders — legislation that could reshape how Europe protects defenders forced into exile.
It was a fitting place for our work to land: our newly arrived visiting fellow joined the workshop alongside defenders from across Germany, connecting our hosting programme directly to the advocacy that aims to make protection a right rather than a favour.