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 Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Released April 2022, arrested June 2021
Arbitrary detention
Killed Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa
Killing, 26 October 2023
Threats and intimidation
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Abubakr Mansour Abdela
Held since November 2024
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Appeal: judgment upheld, April 2026
Detained (pretrial) Al-Fadil Ismail
Held since November 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 18 November 2025
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Abdallah Saïd
Held since November 2024
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Appeal: judgment upheld, 28 September 2026
Mohamed Iqbal Khaled
Released January 2026, arrested May 2024
Arbitrary detention