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
Babouzeid Mohamad Said Labbihi
Director of CODESA, the Sahrawi human rights network, repeatedly harassed by Moroccan security forces for documenting abuses in Western Sahara. Kidnapped and…
Abdelrahman Tarek
Abdelrahman Tarek was arrested in September 2019 during a judicial observation session and has been held in arbitrary detention ever since, despite…
Hunger strikeFaleh Hammoudi
Head of the Tlemcen office of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, convicted to three years in prison for…
Jamila Mojahid
A Sahrawi human rights defender prosecuted for "insulting public officials" after security forces attacked her vehicle and arrested her in May 2022.…
Rasha Azab
Journalist and screenwriter tried for expressing solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. Faced criminal prosecution after film director claimed defamation and financial…
Arroi Baraket
Journalist convicted and fined after a police officer physically attacked her during a traffic stop, threw himself on her while punching her,…
Nizar Saghieh
A founding member of the Legal Agenda, Nizar Saghieh faces disbarment proceedings for criticising amendments that require Bar approval before lawyers speak…
Tanya Darwish
Tanya Darwish led Rasan Organisation, the only LGBTIQ+ rights group in Iraqi Kurdistan, until a court ordered its closure over a rainbow…
Yasser Al-Hamdani
Iraqi journalist charged with defaming an official after exposing corruption on social media. Arrested under warrant in 2022, questioned and bailed in…
Delsoz Khalaf
Delsoz Khalaf leads a human rights organisation in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She faces two criminal complaints filed by a Workers'…
Mhamed Hali
Mhamed Hali holds a doctorate in international humanitarian law and leads the Association for the Protection of Saharan Prisoners. Morocco has blocked…
Ahmed Ettanji
Ahmed Ettanji is a Sahrawi journalist who founded Équipe Média to break Morocco's information blockade. He was expelled from Cape Bojador in…
