Human rights defenders
HuMENA documents the cases of human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa who have been targeted for their work. Each entry is a dated case file.
Scope of the archive and inclusion criteria
HuMENA applies the definition set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders: a human rights defender is any person who, individually or with others, acts by peaceful means to promote or protect internationally recognised human rights, their own or those of others. The status derives from the act, not from a person's profession or title.
Each person in this archive meets two conditions, established by reliable sources: a specific act of this kind, and targeting that followed from it. Cases that rest solely on a violation suffered, on family ties to a defender, on party membership, or on prosecution in a politically sensitive case fall outside its scope.
References: UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (resolution 53/144, 1998); HuMENA Editorial Guide.
Defenders on record, by country
Select a country to show its case files in the list below. The same countries are available in the country filter.
The Record
Filtered cases
At liberty Alaa Abdel Fattah
Released September 2025, arrested May 2006
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 26 December 2025
At liberty Raif Badawi
Released March 2022, arrested March 2008
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 11 March 2022
At liberty Meriem Bribri
Context, 28 September 2022
Judicial harassment
At liberty Ismail Lghazaoui
Released February 2025, arrested October 2024
Arbitrary detention
Detained (pretrial) Abdul Majid Sabra
Held since September 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Pretrial detention renewed, 8 September 2026
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Saida El Alami
Held since July 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 12 October 2026
At liberty Ali Al Hajee
Released March 2025, arrested 2013
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Ziad Al-Sufyani
Released March 2025, arrested September 2020
Arbitrary detention