A common feature of the uprisings across the region was that HRDs became the target of repression due to their involvement in monitoring human rights violations. In Syria scores of human rights defenders were forced to go into hiding or flee the country to escape persecution. Governments resorted to smear campaigns to undermine the integrity of human rights NGOs and individuals. These included mobilising sections of the media and the public to target HRDs under the pretext that they were serving foreign interests or receiving funds from abroad. In Egypt 36 HRDs were investigated by the office of the prosecutor for receiving illegal funding. The Cairo Criminal Court ordered the disclosure of bank details as well as information on domestic and international transactions and transfers. In what appeared to be a politically motivated campaign by the ruling military council, existing legal restrictions were compounded by additional constraints on the work of civil society organisations including the opening of an administrative inquiry into a number of NGOs by the Ministry of Justice.

In several countries including Jordan and Israel, there were proposals to adopt similar restrictive legislative measures. In Israel, a new NGO law was tabled before parliament and remained pending at the end of the year. In Iran, new legislation further restricting the right to freedom of association was tabled in parliament despite national and international calls for the draft law to be dropped. It remained pending at the time of writing.

The rate and frequency of malicious prosecutions, judicial harassment, and unfair trials in the region increased during the year. This was particularly evident in Iran where several HRDs including women HRDs were sentenced to long-term imprisonment on politically motivated charges such as propaganda against the government or membership of illegal groups. Imprisoned human rights defenders were excluded from an amnesty which led to the release of dozens of political prisoners. In Bahrain human rights defenders and bloggers suffered incommunicado detention, torture, malicious prosecutions and unfair trials. Among them was former Front Line Defenders staff member Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who was sentenced by a special military court to life imprisonment on charges including belonging to a terrorist organisation. The crackdown on HRDs came in earnest after a state of emergency was declared allowing for repressive measures to be used against peaceful protesters demanding political and social reform.

The use of harassment, intimidation, forced disappearance, incommunicado detention and torture continued across the region. Among the countries affected were Algeria, Morocco, and Yemen. In the latter, HRDs were also the victims of armed attacks both by government and militias belonging to opposition groups. The same actors were also behind forcible disappearance of HRDs.

As Internet, social networking sites, and other electronic communication systems played an essential role in the uprisings, they also became the object of a crackdown and increased surveillance, especially targeted against HRDs. In Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE bloggers were imprisoned for using internet media to criticise the authorities. The modalities of the crackdown lead to believe that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members states may have developed a coordinated approach to exchange information on HRDs and bloggers and facilitate the identification of those critical of the authorities.

Restrictions on freedom of movement including travel bans were used in a number of countries including Morocco, Iran, Palestine, and Syria. In Morocco a number of HRDs were prevented from travelling to attend human rights related activities inside and outside the country. Moroccan occupied Western Sahara bore the brunt of these restrictions.

Journalists in the region paid heavily in their endeavour to expose the truth. In addition to severe restrictions imposed on freedom of expression and the press, journalists sacrificed their life in countries including Iraq and Yemen where five journalists were reported to have been killed. In Oman and Morocco editors and journalists were imprisoned for publishing material critical of the authorities, and the Omani newspaper Al Zaman was ordered to cease publication for three months.