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 Ahmed Samir Santawy
Released July 2022, arrested February 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 16 April 2026
At liberty Maâti Monjib
Released July 2024, arrested 1995
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hunger strike begins, 31 March 2026
At liberty Mohamed El-Baqer
Released July 2023, arrested September 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Administrative or disciplinary hearing, 13 June 2026
At liberty Patrick George Zaki
Released July 2023, arrested February 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban lifted, 23 July 2023
Mohad Gasmi
Released November 2024, arrested June 2020
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Mohamed Ibrahim (known as “Oxygen”)
Released March 2026, arrested April 2018
Arbitrary detention