Skip to the record
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-2026-044
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-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-EG-2026-039
Under TNR
Mohamed Mahmoud Ebrahim Shahin
An imam and community mediator in Turin for two decades, Mohamed Shahin faces deportation to Egypt after Italy revoked his residence permit…
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-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-SA-2026-002
Released
Raif Badawi
Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger and co-founder of Free Saudi Liberals, served ten years in prison for posts about free speech and…
Hunger strike
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-BH-2011-001
Imprisoned
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja
Co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, sentenced to life in prison after the 2011 uprising. Tortured, sexually assaulted, and held…
Hunger strike
Day 5,635 · since 2011-01-01
HM-XX-2026-002
Imprisoned
Mahmood Al-Hosani
Emirati journalist arrested in 2012 for signing a reform petition. Sentenced to seven years, then held indefinitely after his term ended. Retried…
Day 5,073 · since 2012-07-16
HM-SA-2022-001
Imprisoned
Mohammed Al-Ghamdi
Mohammed Nasser Al-Ghamdi is a teacher from Abha, Saudi Arabia, whose brother is a dissident scholar in UK exile. Arrested in 2022…
Day 1,456 · since 2022-06-11
HM-XX-2026-005
Imprisoned
Abdulsalam Al-Marzooqi
A former Dubai court official held since 2012 for signing a pro-democracy petition. After serving 10 years, authorities extended his detention indefinitely,…
Hunger strike
Day 5,065 · since 2012-07-24
HM-JO-2026-001
On trial
Ayman Hussein Al-Atoum
Ayman Hussein Al-Atoum was arrested in Jordan on 9 January 2026 and remains detained. Full details of his work, the charges, and…
Day 148 · since 2026-01-09