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
Detained (pretrial) Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy
Held since October 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 24 August 2026
Jalal Bouchaab
Held since September 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 16 November 2021
Detained (pretrial) Yasser Abu Al-Ela
Held since March 2024
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Referral to trial, May 2026
Detained (pretrial) Abdul Majid Sabra
Held since September 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Pretrial detention renewed, 8 September 2026
Detained (pretrial) Al-Fadil Ismail
Held since November 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 18 November 2025
Detained (pretrial) Ahmed Amasha
Held since June 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: UN opinion or decision, August 2025
Omar Al-Zayood
Held since March 2025
Arbitrary detention
Sayed Said Khalaf
Held since September 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 1 October 2026
Ahmed Hamdy Abou Zeid Al-Tanoubi
Held since March 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, April 2026
Detained (pretrial) Ahmed Nazir El-Helw
Held since November 2022
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, January 2026
Tawfiq Ghanem
Held since May 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 1 October 2026
Detained (pretrial) Hoda Abdel-Moneim
Held since October 2023
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 14 September 2026