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 Salah Hamouri
Favourable court order, 4 June 2026
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Ghassan Abdallah
Released May 2018, arrested May 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Ill-treatment, 16 May 2022
At liberty Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Released April 2022, arrested June 2021
Arbitrary detention
Badr Baabou
Context, November 2021
Physical assault
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
Killed Khidir Sulieman Abdelmageed
Killing, 11 June 2023
Extrajudicial killing
At liberty Nizar Saghieh
Context, 12 May 2023
Denial of legal counsel
At liberty Jassim Al-Asadi
Released February 2023, arrested February 2023
Physical assault
Killed El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun
Killing, 18 June 2023
Extrajudicial killing
Killed Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik
Context, 18 June 2023
Extrajudicial killing