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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-SD-2026-018
Under restriction
Hafiz Haron
Hafiz Haron reports on police violence in Sudan. When he tried to report a burglary, officers beat him, then charged him with…
Medical urgency
Open case file
HM-TN-2026-010
Under restriction
Badr Baabou
Co-founder of Damj and advocate for LGBTI+ rights in Tunisia, Badr Baabou was attacked and robbed by police and security officers in…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-025
Under restriction
Azza Soliman
Azza Soliman, a women's rights lawyer and founder of CEWLA, endured five years of travel bans and asset freezes in Egypt's foreign…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-033
Under restriction
Mahfouda Bamba Lefkire
A mother and advocate in El Ayoun, Western Sahara, organising workshops for families of political prisoners. After hosting a meeting to support…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-029
Under restriction
Magdy Abdel Hamid
Chairman of EACPE, Magdy Abdel Hamid was barred from travel in 2016 even after charges in the foreign funding case were dropped.…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-030
Under restriction
Negad El Borai
Lawyer and founder of the United Group, specialising in individual freedoms and property law. Charged in Egypt's foreign-funding case; subjected to five…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-031
Under restriction
Hossameldin Ali
President of the Egyptian Democratic Academy, which promotes democracy and political participation, Hossameldin Ali faced travel bans, asset freezes, and detention in…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-034
Under restriction
Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza
Known as 'the father' among Sahrawi political prisoners for his support work, Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza has endured enforced disappearance, solitary…
Hunger strike
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-024
Under restriction
Hossam Bahgat
Hossam Bahgat is a journalist and human rights monitor whose investigative reporting has made him a recurring target of Egypt's security apparatus.…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-030
Under restriction
Jalal Bouchaab
Jalal Bouchaab is a Sahrawi student-rights defender arrested in September 2021 after a peaceful demonstration in Guelmim, held on charges of unlawful…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-029
Under restriction
Sultana Khaya
Sahrawi women's rights defender under de facto house arrest since November 2020. She has endured repeated sexual assaults, physical attacks, and forced…
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