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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-XX-2026-048
Released
Khaled Drareni
Algerian journalist arrested in 2020 while covering Hirak protests; released by pardon February 2021.
Arrested 2020
HM-EG-2026-050
Released
Sanaa Seif
Sanaa Seif was abducted in June 2020 outside the prosecutor's office where she had gone to file a complaint after being assaulted.…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-049
Released
Solafa Magdy
Egyptian journalist and 2020 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner, detained since November 2019 on terrorism and false news charges. Denied medical…
Medical urgency
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-048
Released
Ahmed Samir Santawy
Ahmed Samir Santawy, a graduate student researching women's reproductive rights in Egypt, was sentenced to four years in prison by an emergency…
Hunger strike
Open case file
HM-LB-2026-002
Released
Ghassan Abdallah
Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation in Lebanon, Ghassan Abdallah has faced repeated airport searches, interrogations, and arbitrary detention in retaliation…
Open case file
HM-SA-2026-003
Released
Samar Badawi
Samar Badawi challenged Saudi Arabia's male guardianship laws and led campaigns for women's right to drive. Arrested in July 2018, she was…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-032
Released
Mahienour El-Masry
Mahienour El-Masry is a lawyer who organizes protests and fundraises bail for political prisoners. Arrested outside the prosecutor's office in 2019, she…
Open case file
HM-LY-2026-001
At risk
Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi produces "Shatt al-Hurriya," a satirical TV series about everyday life in Libya. Armed men abducted him in June…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-036
Released
Malcolm Bidali
A Kenyan security guard and blogger detained in Qatar for documenting migrant worker rights abuses. Held in solitary confinement for nearly a…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-017
Released
Ameira Osman Hamid
Ameira Osman Hamid, an engineer and women's rights defender, was arrested from her home in January 2022 by plain-clothed security officers weeks…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-023
Released
Patrick George Zaki
A researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, he was arrested in 2020 and convicted in 2023 for an article on…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-021
Released
Mohamed El-Baqer
Lawyer and director of the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, which provides legal aid to political detainees in Egypt. Detained for…
Open case file