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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
Lawyers
HM-SD-2026-010
Killed
El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun
A lawyer with the Darfur Bar Association who filed cases against the Rapid Support Forces for attacks on displaced-persons camps. Killed in…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-009
Killed
Ahmed Mohamed Abdella
A lawyer who provided legal aid to victims of human rights violations in Darfur, Ahmed Mohamed Abdella was kidnapped and killed less…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-015
Travel banned
Hoda Abdelwahab
Hoda Abdelwahab, a lawyer leading an organisation that defends judicial independence across the Arab world, has been barred from leaving Egypt for…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-020
Under restriction
Mhamed Hali
Mhamed Hali holds a doctorate in international humanitarian law and leads the Association for the Protection of Saharan Prisoners. Morocco has blocked…
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-2026-006
Sentenced
Abubakr Mansour Abdela
Abubakr Mansour Abdela is a lawyer who stayed in his hometown when the war came to Sudan in 2023, distributing medicine and…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-004
Released
Montaser Abdullah
Montaser Abdullah is a Sudanese lawyer who represented survivors of gender-based violence and defended members of the Tagadom political coalition. He was…
Open case file
HM-YE-2026-001
Under restriction
Abdul Majid Sabra
Abdul Majid Sabra is a lawyer who has defended journalists, political activists, and others detained for exercising fundamental rights in Yemen. He…
Hunger strike
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-001
Under restriction
Rehab Mubarak
Rehab Mubarak is a lawyer and member of the Emergency Lawyers executive office who documents human rights violations during Sudan's ongoing conflict.…
Open case file
HM-TN-2025-002
Sentenced
Ayachi Hammemi
Ayachi Hammemi is a lawyer who defended 57 judges dismissed by presidential decree in 2022. Arrested in December 2025 while representing defendants…
Hunger strike
Day 186 · since 2025-12-02
HM-EG-2022-001
Detained
Ahmed Nazir El-Helw
Ahmed Nazir El-Helw is an Egyptian lawyer who has spent much of his career defending political prisoners and advocating for the rule…
Medical urgency
Day 1,310 · since 2022-11-04
HM-EG-2018-003
Imprisoned
Tarek Al-Selkawi
Tarek Al-Selkawi is a human rights lawyer who defended detainees and pressed for legal reform. Arrested in 2018, he was tortured in…
Day 2,774 · since 2018-11-01