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Living Archive
Defenders.
An open record of human rights defenders across the Middle East and North Africa. Every entry is a case file — dated, sourced, and kept current.
173
Records on
the open archive
87
Currently held
detained · sentenced · on trial
57
In exile or under
transnational repression
11
In memoriam
killed for their work
The Record
Filtered cases
HM-XX-2026-042
Detained
Husain Mouneif al-Jabri
Arrested in 2012 and sentenced to ten years in the UAE84 trial, Husain Mouneif al-Jabri completed his term in 2022 but was…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-019
Sentenced
Mohamed Al-Roken
Mohamed Al-Roken is a human rights lawyer who defended activists and critics of the UAE government. Arrested in 2012, he completed a…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-001
Imprisoned
Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith
An Emirati economist who taught at the Sorbonne's Abu Dhabi campus, Nasser bin Ghaith now serves overlapping sentences totalling 25 years for…
Hunger strike
Day 3,945 · since 2015-08-18
HM-XX-2026-002
Imprisoned
Mahmood Al-Hosani
Emirati journalist arrested in 2012 for signing a reform petition. Sentenced to seven years, then held indefinitely after his term ended. Retried…
Day 5,073 · since 2012-07-16
HM-XX-2026-003
Imprisoned
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Siddiq
Scholar, former lecturer, co-founder of the Eslah society. Signed a 2011 petition for democratic reform. Arrested 2012, sentenced in the UAE94 mass…
Day 5,171 · since 2012-04-09
HM-XX-2026-004
Imprisoned
Dr. Hadef Al-Owais
Dr. Hadef Al-Owais taught law at UAE University and sat on the International Court of Arbitration. He has been imprisoned since 2012…
Day 5,016 · since 2012-09-11
HM-XX-2026-005
Imprisoned
Abdulsalam Al-Marzooqi
A former Dubai court official held since 2012 for signing a pro-democracy petition. After serving 10 years, authorities extended his detention indefinitely,…
Hunger strike
Day 5,065 · since 2012-07-24