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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-IQ-2026-005
Under restriction
Tanya Darwish
Tanya Darwish led Rasan Organisation, the only LGBTIQ+ rights group in Iraqi Kurdistan, until a court ordered its closure over a rainbow…
Open case file
HM-LB-2026-001
Under restriction
Nizar Saghieh
A founding member of the Legal Agenda, Nizar Saghieh faces disbarment proceedings for criticising amendments that require Bar approval before lawyers speak…
Open case file
HM-TN-2026-007
Under restriction
Arroi Baraket
Journalist convicted and fined after a police officer physically attacked her during a traffic stop, threw himself on her while punching her,…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-027
Under restriction
Jamila Mojahid
A Sahrawi human rights defender prosecuted for "insulting public officials" after security forces attacked her vehicle and arrested her in May 2022.…
Open case file
HM-SA-2026-001
Released
Mohammed Fahd Al-Qahtani
Saudi economist and co-founder of ACPRA, jailed in 2013 on a 10-year sentence. Forcibly disappeared for two years after his term expired…
Arrested 2012
HM-TN-2026-009
Sentenced
Meriem Bribri
Meriem Bribri was sentenced to four months in prison and fined for sharing a video of police violence on Facebook. A telecommunications…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-017
Released
Haytham Mohamadeen
Haytham Mohamadeen is a labour lawyer who spent over four years in preventive detention on terrorism-related charges. He was arrested in 2018,…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-018
Under restriction
Rasha Azab
Journalist and screenwriter tried for expressing solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. Faced criminal prosecution after film director claimed defamation and financial…
Open case file
HM-EG-2026-019
Released
Ibrahim Ezz El-Din
An engineer who documented forced evictions, Ibrahim Ezz El-Din was arrested in June 2019, disappeared for 167 days, then held in pre-trial…
Open case file
HM-DZ-2026-007
In forced exile
Zaki Hannache
Zaki Hannache documented arrests of protesters after Algeria's 2019 Hirak uprising. He was arrested in 2022, charged with terrorism-related offences, and held…
Medical urgency
Open case file
HM-IQ-2026-003
Sentenced
Sherwan Sherwani
Kurdish journalist who investigated corruption and prisoners' rights in Iraqi Kurdistan, arrested in 2020 amid a crackdown on protests, sentenced to six…
Open case file
HM-XX-2026-021
Sentenced
Zied El Heni
Tunisian journalist sentenced to one year in prison for criticizing a court ruling in a colleague's case. The prosecution used telecommunications law…
Open case file