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
All records
Every entry is a case file. Open one to read the timeline and the cases, and what has and has not been checked. Where a photograph is missing, the file says so. When a case closes, the record stays.
At liberty Imtithal Abdelfadeel
Released April 2025, arrested April 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 22 April 2025
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Abubakr Mansour Abdela
Held since November 2024
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Appeal: judgment upheld, April 2026
At liberty Abdelwahab Ahmed Mohamed Hashem “Bob”
Released December 2025, arrested September 2025
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Montaser Abdullah
Released October 2025, arrested September 2024
Arbitrary detention
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Saida El Alami
Held since July 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 12 October 2026
Detained (pretrial) Al-Fadil Ismail
Held since November 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 18 November 2025
Detained (pretrial) Abdul Majid Sabra
Held since September 2025
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Pretrial detention renewed, 8 September 2026
At liberty Hisham Ali Mohammad Ali
Context, 24 December 2025
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Aida Seif El-Dawla
Summons, November 2026
Judicial harassment
Killed Yanar Mohammed
Context, June 2026
Extrajudicial killing
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Ahmed Douma
Held since April 2026
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 19 October 2026
At liberty Rehab Mubarak
Smear campaign, 18 April 2026
Criminalisation of solidarity