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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-IQ-2026-005
Under restriction
Tanya Darwish
Tanya Darwish led Rasan Organisation, the only LGBTIQ+ rights group in Iraqi Kurdistan, until a court ordered its closure over a rainbow…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-018
Under restriction
Rasha Azab
Journalist and screenwriter tried for expressing solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. Faced criminal prosecution after film director claimed defamation and financial…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-027
Under restriction
Jamila Mojahid
A Sahrawi human rights defender prosecuted for "insulting public officials" after security forces attacked her vehicle and arrested her in May 2022.…
Open case file
HM-TN-2026-007
Under restriction
Arroi Baraket
Journalist convicted and fined after a police officer physically attacked her during a traffic stop, threw himself on her while punching her,…
Open case file
HM-IQ-2026-002
Under restriction
Delsoz Khalaf
Delsoz Khalaf leads a human rights organisation in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She faces two criminal complaints filed by a Workers'…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-008
Killed
Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa
Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa was a 26-year-old economist and women's rights defender in Darfur who supported survivors of sexual violence. She was shot…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2026-002
Under restriction
Jamila Loukil
Journalist and member of the Algerian League for Human Rights, covering Hirak demonstrations in Oran. Charged with terrorism-related offences in 2021 and…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-007
Under restriction
Imtithal Abdelfadeel
Imtithal Abdelfadeel is a journalist and member of the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate who reports on displaced communities and women's rights. She was…
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-MA-2026-001
Sentenced
Saida El Alami
Saida El Alami uses social media to denounce corruption and restrictions on free speech in Morocco. Arrested in July 2025, she was…
Open case file
HM-IQ-2026-001
Killed
Yanar Mohammed
Yanar Mohammed co-founded Iraq's first network of safe houses for women fleeing violence. She was shot and killed outside her home in…
Medical urgency
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