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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-2026-047
Released
Loujain al-Hathloul
Saudi women's rights defender held in detention from May 2018 to February 2021 and now under an indefinite travel ban.
Arrested 2018
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-SD-2026-019
Sentenced
Waad Bahjat
Women's rights defender, blogger, and member of the Umbda Resistance Committee who was arrested, ill-treated, and convicted on charges of public annoyance…
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-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-EG-2026-043
Under TNR
Amal Fathy
Women's rights defender sentenced to prison for criticising Egypt's failure to protect women from sexual harassment. Convicted on false-news and insult charges…
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-2026-029
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-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-2026-025
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-2026-029
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-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