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 Ahmed Samir Santawy
Released July 2022, arrested February 2021
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban imposed, 16 April 2026
Killed Saud al-Faraj
Execution, 1 April 2026
Arbitrary detention
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
At liberty Mansour Mohamed Atti Al-Maghrabi
Released April 2022, arrested June 2021
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Mahienour El-Masry
Released April 2024, arrested November 2017
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Interrogation, August 2025
At liberty Esraa Abdel Fattah
Released July 2021, arrested April 2008
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Travel ban lifted, 5 December 2021
At liberty Samar Badawi
Released June 2021, arrested January 2016
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Conviction, 26 June 2021
Detained (pretrial) Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy
Held since October 2019
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Hearing, 24 August 2026
Imprisoned (serving sentence) Ezzat Ghoneim
Held since September 2018
Arbitrary detention
Latest: Context, 5 March 2023
Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza
Physical assault, 19 March 2023
Arbitrary detention
At liberty Ameira Osman Hamid
Released February 2022, arrested August 2013
Arbitrary detention