Alkarama was created as a Swiss association in July 2004 by Qatari and Algerian human rights defenders – Abdulrahman Al Naimi, Rachid Mesli and Abbas Aroua – to contribute to an Arab World where all individuals live free, in dignity, and protected by the rule of law.
By acting as a bridge between the victims in the Arab world and the UN Special Procedures experts, whilst building the capacity of local activists to directly access UN mechanisms and use the decisions, they adopt to call for the respect of human rights in their countries, Alkarama gave itself the means to achieve its two main objectives simultaneously.
As the events of 2011 began to unfold in the Arab World, Alkarama stood alongside those calling for the respect of their rights and became a major relay of information for the UN mechanisms and the media, on the uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and then Syria.
With Country Representatives in Egypt, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as several visits to Libya, Alkarama was able to closely monitor the violations occurring, reporting them in real time whilst raising awareness amongst the new groups rising to power of their obligation to respect human rights.
As an NGO working on a daily basis with the United Nations human rights protection mechanisms by submitting to these UN bodies detailed information on serious human rights violations committed by States in the region, Alkarama has often been the victim of defamation campaigns, whilst several members of its staff have been targeted – in their own capacity and not necessarily because of their relation with Alkarama – such as executive director, Mourad Dhina and legal director, Rachid Mesli, both victims of international arrest warrants issued by the Algerian government; as well as founding member and former chairman of the Foundation's Council, Abdulrahman Al Naimi, listed by the U.S. Treasury as an “Al Qaeda financier” although the charges were never substantiated.
“It is therefore not surprising that Alkarama, which defends victims of this repression, finds itself vilified and attacked by these regimes; that international NGOs such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Islamic Relief find themselves on the UAE’s list of terrorist organisations along with ISIL and Al Qaeda; and that the former Chairman of our Foundation, Dr Abdulrahman Al Naimi, a university Professor, a Qatari human rights activist and a former Amnesty prisoner of conscience be banned from several countries – including the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” explained Me Mesli.
In 2012, Alkarama's executive director, Dr Mourad Dhina, who had openly called for democratic change in Algeria for years was detained in France for six months on a request from the Algerian authorities to have him extradited to the country.
7 for 2014 on combating terrorist crimes” issued by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan with the aim to “raise awareness in society about these organisations.” The list, which includes internationally recognised terrorist organisations, such as Al-Qaeda or Dae’sh (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL), also includes several Muslim associations in Europe and international NGOs, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Islamic Relief.
Me Rachid Mesli, Legal Director at Alkarama, was arrested at the Swiss-Italian border on 19 August 2015 on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by the Algerian authorities in April 2002, which claims that he had "provided telephone information to terrorist groups movements," and "attempted to supply terrorist groups with cameras and phones,"[16] twisting his work as a human rights lawyer, in constant contact with victims of human rights abuses and their families.
On 22 August, the Italian justice decided to put him under house arrest instead of keeping him in Aosta prison, following several calls from various NGOs, institutions and personalities, as well as an important media coverage of his case.
"[19] And on 13 May 2016, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files decided, after a long legal battle, to drop the international arrest warrant issued in 2003 by the Algerian authorities against Me Mesli, for their lack of cooperation as well as their failure to provide any form of clarification on his case.
The report listed Ibrahim Issa al-Bakr, Salim Hasan al-Kuwari, Abd al-Latif Bin Abdullah Salih Muhammad al-Kawari, Khalid Saeed al-Bounein and others as the detainees which Alkarama demanded be released.
[20] The U.S. Treasury claimed that in the early 2000s, when Alkarama released its advocacy report, Ibrahim Issa al-Bakr was “working to raise money to support terrorism” and was involved in a jihadist network.
[25] Al-Kawari was also a coordinator of Madid Ahl al-Sham, an online fundraising campaign used to fund al-Nusra Front militants in Syria and transfer weapons and supplies to the terrorist group.