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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-XX-2026-048
On trial
Ahmed Issa Qatan
An environmental specialist who opposed ministerial decrees threatening the Dhofar Plain's natural heritage, Dr. Qatan was detained after tweeting his objections to…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-050
Released
Sanaa Seif
Sanaa Seif was abducted in June 2020 outside the prosecutor's office where she had gone to file a complaint after being assaulted.…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-044
In forced exile
Salah Hamouri
Franco-Palestinian human rights lawyer detained without charge in Al-Moskobiya since March 2022 under administrative detention, facing revocation of his Jerusalem residency and…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-042
Detained
Husain Mouneif al-Jabri
Arrested in 2012 and sentenced to ten years in the UAE84 trial, Husain Mouneif al-Jabri completed his term in 2022 but was…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-038
Killed
Saud al-Faraj
Saud al-Faraj was executed in April 2026 after a trial at Saudi Arabia's Specialised Criminal Court that followed nearly two years of…
Open case file
HM-BH-2026-010
Under TNR
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was detained for 52 days after posting verified footage of a US military jet crash in Kuwait, then stripped of…
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-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-LY-2026-001
At risk
Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi produces "Shatt al-Hurriya," a satirical TV series about everyday life in Libya. Armed men abducted him in June…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-032
Released
Mahienour El-Masry
Mahienour El-Masry is a lawyer who organizes protests and fundraises bail for political prisoners. Arrested outside the prosecutor's office in 2019, she…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2026-009
Sentenced
Abd Al Hamid Goura
Head of the Laghouat section of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, Abd Al Hamid Goura was arrested at…
Open case file