Switzerland condemns Russia’s campaign against opponents abroad

Switzerland has placed Russia's repression of exiles and dissidents on the UN agenda. Speaking in Geneva on Monday, September 21, 2026, the Swiss mission called on Moscow to end practices that reach beyond Russian territory and target people who have fled the country.

The intervention followed the presentation of a report by Mariana Katzarova, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia. Katzarova said the campaign abroad forms part of a deliberate, institutionalised system rather than a collection of unrelated incidents.

Her report records nearly 400 cases of repression abroad. It also says more than 150 people were sentenced in absentia in 2025, giving Russian authorities a mechanism to pursue critics without bringing them before a domestic court.

Switzerland's representative said the pattern threatens fundamental freedoms, privacy and personal safety. Human rights defenders and civil society activists face a disproportionate share of the pressure. The issue carries particular weight for European states that host Russian journalists, campaigners and political opponents, including people who remain exposed to legal, financial and digital pressure after leaving Russia.

Between 650,000 and 900,000 Russians have left their country since the start of the war, according to Katzarova's report. The growth of that exile community has been followed by an expansion of the machinery used to monitor and punish it.

The report identifies at least nine Russian security departments involved in the campaign, alongside prosecutors and government ministries. The tools described include arrest warrants, shared databases, restrictions involving banks and digital systems, and cooperation with foreign allies.

Katzarova said the authorities have built a system capable of following people beyond Russia's borders. Since August, legislation has allowed restrictions on assets, passports, consular services, financial matters and property rights for Russians abroad who appear on a designated list. Those affected can still remain subject to their obligations as Russian citizens.

Switzerland urged Moscow not to use laws on national security, extremism and terrorism as broad instruments for suppressing rights. The Swiss position reflects a concern that legal labels and administrative measures can impose consequences on people who have no practical access to a fair hearing in Russia.

Digital surveillance has become a central part of the pressure campaign. Katzarova reported that a digital operation targeting a campaign to secure communications compromised hundreds of people, including European politicians.

The allegation adds a technological layer to the measures already documented by the report. Arrest warrants and financial restrictions can be recorded in official systems. Digital monitoring can reach personal networks, communications and political activity across borders. For people living in exile, those methods can affect relatives, colleagues and organisations as well as the original target.

Switzerland said Russia must not use new technologies to monitor, harass or intimidate individuals. It also stressed that states should be able to cooperate with the United Nations without facing reprisals.

The report criticised countries that extradite Russian nationals back to their home country. Katzarova called on states hosting Russians to meet their international obligations and protect people from return to a system that may prosecute them for political activity. Her proposal for an international convention would establish common safeguards against repression carried out across borders, although the source does not specify a timetable for negotiations.

The dispute adds a human rights dimension to Switzerland's wider security concerns about Russia. Swiss intelligence has previously described Russia as Switzerland's biggest espionage threat, citing both cyber espionage and the use of human sources to gather information.

The UN discussion focused on a different problem, the treatment of Russian citizens and critics beyond Russia's borders. For Switzerland, the two issues meet in the country's role as a diplomatic centre, host to international organisations and home to exiled communities. Geneva also gives affected civil society groups access to UN forums, while increasing the importance of protecting them from retaliation.

Switzerland's call for an international convention seeks a coordinated response. The proposal would address the use of legal, financial and digital tools against dissidents and clarify the duties of states where those people live. It also places responsibility on governments that share information, enforce warrants or return individuals to Russia.

The Human Rights Council report gives the debate a documented basis, with nearly 400 cases, more than 150 in absentia sentences in 2025 and evidence of involvement by at least nine security departments. Switzerland has now made clear that it expects international institutions and host states to treat those figures as a collective protection challenge.