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 Loujain al-Hathloul
Released February 2021, arrested December 2014
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 13 May 2024
At liberty Khaled Drareni
Released February 2021, arrested March 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 28 April 2022
At liberty Ali Akram al-Bayati
Released February 2022, arrested February 2022
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Departure into exile, 2022
At liberty Amal Fathy
Released December 2018, arrested May 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Final judgment, 11 January 2022
At liberty Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh
Released June 2022, arrested July 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 18 August 2022
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 Waad Bahjat
Released November 2020, arrested November 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 4 May 2021
At liberty Solafa Magdy
Released April 2021, arrested November 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Departure into exile, 26 September 2021
At liberty Sanaa Seif
Released December 2021, arrested June 2014
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Defender activity, 11 May 2026
At liberty Ahmed Issa Qatan
Released August 2022, arrested February 2021
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Salah Hamouri
Favourable court order, 4 June 2026
Arbitrary detention