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 Ghassan Abdallah
Released May 2018, arrested May 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Ill-treatment, 16 May 2022
Killed Saud al-Faraj
Execution, 1 April 2026
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Mahfouda Bamba Lefkire
Released May 2020, arrested November 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Physical assault, 17 March 2025
Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza
Physical assault, 19 March 2023
Arbitrary detention
Mohamed Eldai Musa
Context, 6 March 2022
Extrajudicial killing
Babouzeid Mohamad Said Labbihi
Other act, 5 January 2022
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Sultana Khaya
Released May 2022, arrested November 2020
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Patrick George Zaki
Released July 2023, arrested February 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban lifted, 23 July 2023
Jalal Bouchaab
Held since September 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 16 November 2021
At liberty Jamila Mojahid
Released May 2022, arrested May 2022
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 14 November 2024
At liberty Ahmed Ettanji
Released October 2024, arrested October 2024
Arbitrary detention
Latest: UN opinion or decision, 3 January 2025
At liberty Slimane Bouhafs
Released September 2024, arrested July 2016
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 30 March 2026