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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-EG-2026-053
In forced exile
Mostafa Fouad
Egyptian human rights lawyer living in exile since 2017. After co-founding HuMENA and launching a campaign to expose officials implicated in abuses,…
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-2026-023
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-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-MA-2025-001
Sentenced
Ibtissame (Betty) Lachgar
Ibtissame Lachgar is a clinical psychologist, feminist, and co-founder of MALI, an organization defending individual freedoms. She was arrested after posting a…
Medical urgency
Day 300 · since 2025-08-10