In July 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced two indictments charging Iranian and Chinese government officials and others acting at their behest with a variety of crimes stemming from two separate plots to coerce U.S. residents to return to those countries. The first involved four Iranians and a U.S. resident who took steps to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin and transport her to Iran to answer for regime criticism. The second charged nine individuals, including a Chinese prosecutor and a policeman, with crimes relating to an operation to surveil, harass, and threaten U.S. residents with the aim of compelling their return to China. U.S officials denounced the operations as contrary to human rights and the rule of law.

Citation
Kristen Eichensehr, United States Indicts Iranian and Chinese Government Agents for Targeting Individuals in the United States, 116 American Journal of International Law, 179–184 (2022).
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