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 Khaled Drareni
Released February 2021, arrested March 2020
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 28 April 2022
At liberty Solafa Magdy
Released April 2021, arrested November 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Departure into exile, 26 September 2021
At liberty Esraa Abdel Fattah
Released July 2021, arrested April 2008
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban lifted, 5 December 2021
Hafiz Haron
Released August 2021, arrested May 2021
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Released April 2022, arrested June 2021
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Maâti Monjib
Released July 2024, arrested 1995
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hunger strike begins, 31 March 2026
At liberty Ramy Kamel
Released January 2022, arrested November 2019
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Negad El Borai
Context, 20 March 2024
Asset freeze
At liberty Hossam Bahgat
Released January 2025, arrested November 2015
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Call by others, 10 February 2026
At liberty Yasser Al-Hamdani
Acquittal, 30 May 2023
Judicial harassment
At liberty Arroi Baraket
Conviction, 18 January 2023
Gender based violence
At liberty Rasha Azab
Released October 2026, arrested April 2024
Arbitrary detention