Geneva — Women Journalists Without Chains has released its 2025 annual report, “The Architecture of Repression: From Atrocities to Authoritarian Legality,” presenting a comprehensive assessment of the deteriorating human rights situation across the Middle East and North Africa.

Beirut, January 27, 2026 – Lebanese journalist and Al-Manar TV presenter Ali Nour al-Din was killed on Monday, January 26, when an Israeli airstrike targeted a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Two other civilians were injured in the attack, according to official Lebanese media reports.

The transfer of detainees accused of affiliation with ISIS from northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody raises serious concern, as Iraqi authorities begin receiving and prosecuting groups from Al‑Hol camp and Hasakah prison. This move marks a dangerous turning point that threatens thousands of lives with imminent risk of torture, unfair trials, and execution.

Algerian authorities transferred Tunisian lawyer and opposition figure Seifeddine Makhlouf to Tunisia on January 18, 2026, in a move that has drawn strong criticism from the organization Journalists Without Chains, which said the handover violated international law and exposed Makhlouf to a serious risk of political persecution.

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon injured eight journalists on January 21, 2026, after strikes hit the town of Qennarit in the Sidon district while media workers were covering developments on the ground, marking a serious escalation in attacks on journalists and media institutions in the region.

The Egyptian authorities bear full responsibility for the death of human rights lawyer Shams al-Din Ahmed Atta Allah, who died inside Tenth of Ramadan Prison after years of arbitrary detention and the deliberate denial of necessary medical care. His death constitutes a grave violation of the right to life and reflects a broader pattern of systematic abuse and impunity within Egypt’s detention system.

The security situation in areas under Houthi militia control has deteriorated to a critical level, marked by a surge in violent crimes against civilians and the near-total absence of legal protection. A systematic policy of impunity shields perpetrators and has turned civilian life—particularly for women, children, journalists, and human rights defenders—into a continuous state of danger.