Alireza Rajai Wins Annual Award from Human Rights Defenders Association

The Human Rights Defenders Association has announced Alireza Rajai, a political activist and journalist, as the winner of its "Human Rights Defender" award for the year 1396 (2017). According to a report from the Human Rights Defenders Association's website, on Tuesday, December 20, Mohammad Saifzadeh, a member of the Association's Supreme Supervisory Council, presented the "Cyrus Charter" statue as a symbol of the "Human Rights Defender" award to Mr. Rajai. Mr. Saifzadeh stated at the ceremony that the award is not only given due to the "injuries" Rajai sustained during his imprisonment but also because of his "human rights character and personality". The Human Rights Defenders Association has been awarding one human rights activist each year since 1386 (2007), presenting the award on Human Rights Day, December 10. This year's award was also presented at a ceremony held at Alireza Rajai's home on the occasion of Human Rights Day. Alireza Rajai was arrested after the presidential elections in 1388 (2009) on charges of "acting against national security" and was released after a while. He was arrested again in Ordibehesht 1390 (May 2011) and sentenced to four years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in 1391 (2012). Rajai was imprisoned in Ward 350 of Evin Prison until Aban 1394 (November 2015). He developed sinus cancer while in prison, but according to his relatives, due to the "refusal of the authorities of Ward 350 to send" Rajai to "medical centers outside the prison for treatment, his illness severely progressed". His illness progressed to the point that doctors, after several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, had to remove parts of his upper jaw and facial muscles, as well as his right eye. Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stated that Alireza Rajai developed cancer after his release from prison. Mr. Ejei claimed that "the issue of cancer is common in some provinces. Many people get cancer and die within a short period. Some get cancer and from diagnosis to death is very short. This individual [Rajai] was released from prison two years ago and developed cancer". Alireza Rajai is a national-religious political activist, a former member of the board of the Iranian Journalists' Association, and the director of Gam No Publishing. He has also served as the political group editor for reformist newspapers such as Jameh, Toseh, Neshat, Khordad, and Asr-e Azadegan. Mr. Rajai was previously sentenced to three years in prison and five years of social rights deprivation in the well-known case of the "National-Religious" in 1379 (2000). In this context, the International Federation of Journalists stated that the judiciary is responsible for Alireza Rajai's condition. The judiciary spokesperson stated that Alireza Rajai developed cancer after his release from prison. Alireza Rajai, a political activist, lost his right eye and part of his face.