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
Killed Saud al-Faraj
Execution, 1 April 2026
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Samar Badawi
Released June 2021, arrested January 2016
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Conviction, 26 June 2021
At liberty Raif Badawi
Released March 2022, arrested March 2008
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 11 March 2022
At liberty Mohammed Fahd Al-Qahtani
Released January 2025, arrested March 2013
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Hisham Ali Mohammad Ali
Context, 24 December 2025
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Abdulaziz Al-Shubaili
Released July 2025, arrested September 2017
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 13 July 2025
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Mohammed Al-Otaibi
Held since May 2017
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Appeal: sentence increased, April 2021
At liberty Ziad Al-Sufyani
Released March 2025, arrested September 2020
Arbitrary detention
Mohammed Al-Ghamdi
Held since June 2022
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Conviction, 24 September 2024