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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
Released
HM-DZ-2026-006
Released
Kamira Nait Sid
Kamira Nait Sid co-leads an international NGO defending Amazigh rights. She was abducted from her home in August 2021, held incommunicado for…
Open case file
HM-MA-2026-003
Released
Ismail Lghazaoui
Agricultural engineer and pro-Palestine advocate imprisoned for two months for social-media posts supporting boycotts of companies linked to Israel. Released February 2025…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2026-004
Released
Mohad Gasmi
Mohad Gasmi organised unemployed youth in southern Algeria, protested fracking, and joined the Hirak reform movement. He spent more than four years…
Hunger strike
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-TN-2025-001
Released
Ahmed Souab
Ahmed Souab was arrested in Tunisia in April 2025 and sentenced to five years in prison on a terrorism apology charge. He…
Arrested 2025
HM-TN-2023-001
Released
Chadha Haj Mbarek
Chadha Haj Mbarek was arrested on 20 July 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison under Tunisia's national security laws. She…
Arrested 2023
HM-BH-2025-001
Released
Ali Al Hajee
Ali Al Hajee was arrested in March 2025 after posting criticism of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain on social media. He was…
Arrested 2025
HM-TN-2024-008
Released
Yadh Bousselmi
A Tunisian defender detained since May 2024. Awaiting full case documentation and editorial review.
Arrested 2024
HM-TN-2024-006
On trial
Salwa Ghrissa
A Tunisian human rights defender working on social inclusion and the right to difference. Arrested in December 2024, held in severely overcrowded…
Day 543 · since 2024-12-10
HM-TN-2024-003
Released
Mohamed Joô
Mohamed Joô has been detained in Tunisia since 13 May 2024. No further details about his background, the circumstances of his arrest,…
Arrested 2024
HM-TN-2026-003
Released
Imen Ouardani
Imen Ouardani, a Tunisian defender whose case is under editorial review. Full details are being verified and will be published once documentation…
Open case file
HM-TN-2024-007
Released
Sherifa Riahi
Sherifa Riahi is the legal representative of a Tunisian civil society organization prosecuted for aiding irregular migrants. She was arrested in May…
Arrested 2024