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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
Currently held
HM-XX-2026-032
Detained
Ibrahim Mrikli
Ibrahim Mrikli was arrested in El Ayoun on 15 May 2020 and charged with insulting public servants, stone throwing, and violating quarantine…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-022
Sentenced
Mohamed Ibrahim
Mohamed Ibrahim runs Oxygen Egypt, a blog and YouTube channel covering rights and politics. Arrested in September 2019 after reporting to police,…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-031
Detained
Jamal Ahrouch
Jamal Ahrouch is a Sahrawi trade unionist arrested after participating in a peaceful demonstration in Gulemim. He has been held in Bouizakarne…
Open case file
HM-TN-2026-009
Sentenced
Meriem Bribri
Meriem Bribri was sentenced to four months in prison and fined for sharing a video of police violence on Facebook. A telecommunications…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2026-007
In forced exile
Zaki Hannache
Zaki Hannache documented arrests of protesters after Algeria's 2019 Hirak uprising. He was arrested in 2022, charged with terrorism-related offences, and held…
Medical urgency
Open case file
HM-IQ-2026-003
Sentenced
Sherwan Sherwani
Kurdish journalist who investigated corruption and prisoners' rights in Iraqi Kurdistan, arrested in 2020 amid a crackdown on protests, sentenced to six…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-021
Sentenced
Zied El Heni
Tunisian journalist sentenced to one year in prison for criticizing a court ruling in a colleague's case. The prosecution used telecommunications law…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-023
Detained
Murtadha Al-Janoubi
Environmental activist documenting the degradation of Maysan's marshes, arrested after participating in protests demanding fair water allocations for communities facing drought and…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-013
Sentenced
Ahmed Hassan
Ahmed Hassan was 18 when he disappeared on 1 April 2019, en route to a graphic design course in Cairo. Seven years…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-010
Sentenced
Yasser Abu Al-Ela
Yasser Abu Al-Ela is a journalist arrested in March 2024, forcibly disappeared for 50 days, and subjected to torture. He remains in…
Hunger strike
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-SD-2026-005
Detained
Abdelwahab Ahmed Mohamed Hashem “Bob”
Abdelwahab Ahmed Mohamed Hashem—known to friends and colleagues as Bob—leads the Workers' Coordination Committee in North Kordofan, advocating for public employees amid…
Open case file