Alireza Ranjayi, political activist, lost his right eye and part of his face

Relatives of Alireza Ranjayi, a journalist and prominent figure in the National-Religious movement, reported that he lost his right eye and part of the bones on the right side of his face after surgery. Alireza Ranjayi spent four years in prison from 2011 on charges of membership in the National-Religious Forces Coalition and actions against national security, during which he developed sinus cancer. His family and close ones believe that the 'denial of treatment' during his imprisonment was a factor in the progression of his illness and his current condition. Reza Alijani, a National-Religious activist, confirmed the reports about Ranjayi's right eye removal and loss of part of his face on Wednesday, September 8. Alijani wrote on his personal Facebook page that he verified this information with Leila Liaqat, Alireza Ranjayi's wife. This political activist holds the Iranian government responsible for Ranjayi's current physical condition. In recent days, heavy surgery reports about Alireza Ranjayi circulated on social media, stating that the surgery lasted 14 hours. Following this, a photo of him was released showing him in a hospital bed with half of his face covered in bandages. The Persian page of the International Federation of Journalists provided more details about Ranjayi's condition, quoting one of his companions who stated that during the surgery, 'the maxillary bone, part of the upper jaw, and part of the masseter muscle were removed, and the right eye was also removed.' The report adds that after his release from prison in November 2015, Ranjayi underwent 'four rounds of heavy chemotherapy and 35 sessions of radiotherapy,' but his illness recurred, leading to 'six additional rounds of chemotherapy, and he underwent surgery on Sunday.' Alireza Ranjayi was the political group secretary for the prominent newspapers 'Jameh,' 'Toseh,' 'Khordad,' 'Asr-e Azadgan,' and 'Neshat' in the late 1990s, all of which have been banned. He was a candidate for the sixth parliamentary elections in Tehran and was among the 30 elected representatives, but the Guardian Council annulled over 700,000 votes, ultimately ruling that Gholamali Haddad-Adel, a principlist figure close to the Supreme Leader of Iran, would take his place in parliament. Ranjayi was also arrested in 2000 along with several members of the National-Religious movement, and the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to three years in prison and five years of social rights deprivation. Following the protests in 2009, Ranjayi was detained for a period. The sentence set by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court under Judge Haddad was four years in prison and five years of deprivation of all social rights and membership in political and civil organizations.