Nicaragua, China and India are among the 55 countries that restrict freedom of movement

At least 55 governments have restricted the movement of people they consider a threat – including journalists – over the past decade, according to a report by Freedom House published on Thursday.

Governments are controlling freedom of movement through travel bans, revoking citizenships, document checks and denying consular services, the report said. All of these tactics are aimed at coercing and punishing government critics, says Jessica White, the report's London-based co-author.

“This tactic clearly shows how vindictive and punitive some countries are,” White said. This form of repression “is an attempt to suppress people's ability to express themselves freely, wherever they are.”

Belarus, China, India, Nicaragua, Russia, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that practice this form of repression, the report says. Freedom House based its findings in part on interviews with more than 30 people affected by mobility controls.

Travel bans are the most common tactic, White said. Freedom House has identified at least 40 governments that prevent their citizens from leaving or returning to the country.

Revoking citizenship is another strategy, although it is prohibited under international law. The Nicaraguan government revoked the citizenship of more than 200 political prisoners in 2023, shortly after they were deported to the United States.

Among them were Juan Lorenzo Holmann, editor of Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper, The press.

“It's like I don't exist anymore. It's another attack on my human rights,” he told VOA after he was released. “But you can't erase a person's personality. The Nicaraguan constitution says you can't erase a person's identity or take away their nationality. I feel Nicaraguan and they can't take that away from me.”

Before Lorenzo was deported from his home country, he spent 545 days in prison. The case was widely seen as politically motivated.

Another tactic is to block access to passports and other travel documents. For example, in June Hong Kong cancelled the passports of six pro-democracy activists living in exile in Britain.

In some cases, governments refuse to issue passports to people in order to keep them in the country. And if the person is already abroad, embassies refuse to renew the passport in order to prevent the person from traveling anywhere, including home.

For example, Myanmar's embassy in Berlin refused to renew the passport of Ma Thida, a Burmese writer living in exile in Germany. Ma Thida told VOA earlier this year that she believed the refusal was retaliation for her writing.

White said Ma Thida's case was a classic example of mobility restrictions. Currently, the German government has issued a passport reserved for people who cannot obtain one in their home country – which White welcomed but is still rare.

“Our ability to freely leave and return to our homeland is often taken for granted in democratic societies. It is one of our fundamental human rights, yet it is undermined and violated in many parts of the world,” White said.

Mobility limitations can have devastating consequences, making it difficult to work, travel and visit family. What makes matters worse, says White, is the emotional toll.

“The psychological impact is enormous,” said White. “Many of our interviewees particularly mention the pain of being separated from their family members and not being able to return to their country.”

In the report, Freedom House calls on democratic governments to impose sanctions against actors that carry out mobility controls.

White said democratic governments should provide more support to dissidents, for example by issuing them alternative travel documents if they cannot obtain them in their home countries.