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Baseless Charges against Alaei Brothers Rumored

Posted on Sunday, Aug 3, 2008 at 2:55 pm by Benjamin Greenberg

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency says that two brothers – physicians known for their work on AIDS – have been charged with violating national security.

The report Saturday quotes deputy Tehran prosecutor Hassan Haddad as saying the two used conferences on AIDS to “recruit individuals” to topple Iran’s government.

Haddad did not name the suspects, but accused them of plotting a “velvet revolution” in Iran and said Washington supported the brothers.

ISNA is not an official agency, but authorities sometimes use it to leak sensitive information.

(Read the ISNA report in Farsi.)

Physicians for Human Rights urges the government of Iran to immediately disclose information on the brothers’ whereabouts and any charges which may be filed against them, and give them access to lawyers—or release them immediately.

Posted in Arash Alaei, Kamiar Alaei, news coverage | 1 Comment »

One Response to “Baseless Charges against Alaei Brothers Rumored”

on 03 Aug 2008 at 11:52 pm - 1Jonathan Hutson

Agence France-Presse reported on August 3:

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian authorities have launched an inquiry into two doctors known for their pioneering work on HIV/AIDS over claims they were plotting a “velvet revolution,” a newspaper reported on Sunday.

“A case has been filed whose defendants are two brothers. They held conferences on such topics as AIDS, which drew the attention of domestic and foreign organisations and NGOs,” Tehran’s deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad was quoted as saying by the reformist Etemad newspaper.

Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei have worked for many years on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Iran and internationally, and were reportedly arrested in June. Haddad did not confirm if the pair were currently in jail.

“They would organise foreign trips for people and train them. They were aware of what they were doing, and their training was of the nature of a velvet revolution,” Haddad said.

Arash Alaei is scheduled to make a presentation in Mexico on Iran’s innovative HIV programme, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said.

“A security prosecution office is continuing to investigate the case,” Haddad added.