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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
Journalists
HM-EG-2026-006
Detained
Ahmed Douma
Egyptian writer and central figure of the January 25 revolution. Pardoned by President al-Sisi in August 2023 after nearly ten years in…
Day 4,568 · since 2013-12-03
HM-DZ-2025-003
Sentenced
Saad Bouakba
Saad Bouakba is a journalist and author. He was jailed in November 2025 after discussing historical allegations about Algeria's first president in…
Day 191 · since 2025-11-27
HM-JO-2025-002
Detained
Omar Al-Zayood
Omar Al-Zayood, publisher of the independent Jordanian news outlet Al-Hashmiyah, was arrested in March 2025 after former Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh filed…
Day 446 · since 2025-03-17
HM-TN-2024-004
Detained
Mourad Zghidi
Mourad Zghidi is a Tunisian journalist sentenced in January 2026 to three years and six months in prison on money laundering and…
Day 766 · since 2024-05-01
HM-EG-2019-001
Sentenced
Mohamed Ibrahim (known as “Oxygen”)
Mohamed Ibrahim, known as "Oxygen," is a blogger who chronicled election irregularities and protest arrests in Egypt. He was disappeared for 18…
Hunger strike
Day 2,449 · since 2019-09-22
HM-EG-2020-005
Detained
Ahmed Hamdy Abou Zeid Al-Tanoubi
Ahmed Hamdy Abou Zeid Al-Tanoubi is a journalist, trade unionist, and researcher at the Arab Observatory for Media Freedom who has spent…
Day 2,265 · since 2020-03-24
HM-SA-2020-001
Released
Ziad Al-Sufyani
Ziad Al-Sufyani is a podiatrist who founded a university reading club and edited Wikipedia pages on women's rights. He was arrested during…
Arrested 2020
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-EG-2021-001
Detained
Tawfiq Ghanem
Tawfiq Ghanem, 71, is an Egyptian journalist who has spent decades covering government accountability. He was arrested in May 2021 and has…
Day 1,842 · since 2021-05-21
HM-DZ-2025-002
Sentenced
Mohamed Tadjadit
Known as the "poet of the Hirak," Mohamed Tadjadit has been arrested six times since 2019. In January 2025, aged 32, he…
Day 506 · since 2025-01-16
HM-TN-2025-003
Detained
Chaima Issa)
Chaïma Issa was sentenced to twenty years in prison by a Tunisian Court of Appeal on charges of conspiracy against state security…
Hunger strike
Day 521 · since 2025-01-01
HM-BH-2011-002
Imprisoned
Abduljalil Al-Singace
Bahraini academic and human rights defender serving life imprisonment since 2011. On a liquid-only hunger strike since July 2021 in protest at…
Hunger strike
Day 5,560 · since 2011-03-17