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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-2026-008
On trial
Ali Akram al-Bayati
Ali Akram al-Bayati, a physician and former IHCHR Commissioner, faces defamation charges for documenting torture claims while serving Iraq's national human rights…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-046
On trial
Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh
Director of a Palestinian health organization, arrested at her home in Ramallah in July 2021 and held in Israeli prisons under charges…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-020
On trial
Khadeeja Aldewaihi
Khadeeja Aldewaihi, a women's rights defender and TV presenter in Sudan, faces criminal charges under the 2018 Cybercrimes Act for a 2020…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-048
On trial
Ahmed Issa Qatan
An environmental specialist who opposed ministerial decrees threatening the Dhofar Plain's natural heritage, Dr. Qatan was detained after tweeting his objections to…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-034
On trial
Said Abdelrazek
Said Abdelrazek converted to Christianity and was arrested from his Cairo home in July 2025. He was subjected to torture and held…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-028
On trial
Ezzat Ghoneim
Ezzat Ghoneim, a lawyer who led one of Egypt's most active human rights groups documenting disappearances, was himself disappeared in 2018, then…
Open case file
HM-TN-2024-001
Detained
Abdallah Saïd
Abdallah Saïd was arrested in Tunisia on 12 November 2024 and charged with money laundering, forming a criminal association, and undermining state…
Day 571 · since 2024-11-12
HM-EG-2026-002
On trial
Aya Kamal El-Din Hussein
Aya Kamal El-Din Hussein is a political activist and fashion designer first arrested at seventeen. She has been held in pre-trial detention…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2024-002
On trial
Mira Moknache
Mira Moknache is a university professor who joined Algeria's Hirak movement, advocating peacefully for dignity and equal rights. Detained since July 2024…
Day 688 · since 2024-07-18
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-2024-006
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-DZ-2024-003
On trial
Sofiane Ouali
Sofiane Ouali is an Algerian lawyer who defends prisoners of conscience and those prosecuted for exercising their fundamental rights. He met with…
Day 696 · since 2024-07-10