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 Ali Akram al-Bayati
Released February 2022, arrested February 2022
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Departure into exile, 2022
At liberty Amal Fathy
Released December 2018, arrested May 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Final judgment, 11 January 2022
At liberty Ahmed Samir Santawy
Released July 2022, arrested February 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 16 April 2026
At liberty Sanaa Seif
Released December 2021, arrested June 2014
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Defender activity, 11 May 2026
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Husain Mouneif al-Jabri
Held since June 2023
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Final judgment, 26 June 2025
At liberty Malcolm Bidali
Released May 2021, arrested May 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban lifted, 16 August 2021
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Ezzat Ghoneim
Held since September 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 5 March 2023
Magdy Abdel Hamid
Case dropped, 30 August 2021
Asset freeze
Jalal Bouchaab
Held since September 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 16 November 2021
At liberty Hossam Bahgat
Released January 2025, arrested November 2015
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Call by others, 10 February 2026
At liberty Tanya Darwish
Appeal lodged, June 2023
Criminalisation of solidarity
At liberty Ahmed Gamal Ziada
Released March 2019, arrested December 2013
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 20 September 2023