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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
Every case, on the record.
Each card is a case file. Open it to read the timeline, the sources, and the current verification status. When a case closes, the record stays.
HM-SD-2026-011
Killed
Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik
Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik, 50, was a founding member of the Darfur Bar Association and served on the steering committee of the…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-010
Killed
El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun
A lawyer with the Darfur Bar Association who filed cases against the Rapid Support Forces for attacks on displaced-persons camps. Killed in…
Open case file
HM-IQ-2026-003
Sentenced
Sherwan Sherwani
Kurdish journalist who investigated corruption and prisoners' rights in Iraqi Kurdistan, arrested in 2020 amid a crackdown on protests, sentenced to six…
Open case file
HM-SD-2026-009
Killed
Ahmed Mohamed Abdella
A lawyer who provided legal aid to victims of human rights violations in Darfur, Ahmed Mohamed Abdella was kidnapped and killed less…
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-EG-2026-016
In forced exile
Ahmed Gamal Ziada
Egyptian journalist and editor-in-chief of Zawia3, now in Belgium. In August 2023, Egyptian security forces arrested his father and charged him with…
Medical urgency
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-XX-2026-023
Detained
Murtadha Al-Janoubi
Environmental activist documenting the degradation of Maysan's marshes, arrested after participating in protests demanding fair water allocations for communities facing drought and…
Open case file
HM-BH-2026-005
Killed
Sayed Mohammed Al-Mousawi
Arrested at a checkpoint with friends in Muharraq on 19 March 2026, forcibly disappeared, and killed under torture eight days later. His…
Medical urgency
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-015
Travel banned
Hoda Abdelwahab
Hoda Abdelwahab, a lawyer leading an organisation that defends judicial independence across the Arab world, has been barred from leaving Egypt for…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-021
Sentenced
Zied El Heni
Tunisian journalist sentenced to one year in prison for criticizing a court ruling in a colleague's case. The prosecution used telecommunications law…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-013
Sentenced
Ahmed Hassan
Ahmed Hassan was 18 when he disappeared on 1 April 2019, en route to a graphic design course in Cairo. Seven years…
Open case file