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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-2026-049
Released
Solafa Magdy
Egyptian journalist and 2020 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner, detained since November 2019 on terrorism and false news charges. Denied medical…
Medical urgency
Open case file
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-IQ-2026-008
On trial
Ali Akram al-Bayati
Ali Akram al-Bayati, a physician and former IHCHR Commissioner, faces defamation charges for documenting torture claims while serving Iraq's national human rights…
Open case file
HM-LB-2026-002
Released
Ghassan Abdallah
Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation in Lebanon, Ghassan Abdallah has faced repeated airport searches, interrogations, and arbitrary detention in retaliation…
Open case file
HM-SA-2026-005
Under TNR
Ghanem Al-Masarir
Ghanem Al-Masarir, a Saudi dissident YouTuber living in London, was targeted with Pegasus spyware and physically assaulted by Saudi agents. In 2026…
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-2026-003
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-XX-2026-036
Released
Malcolm Bidali
A Kenyan security guard and blogger detained in Qatar for documenting migrant worker rights abuses. Held in solitary confinement for nearly a…
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-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