There have been rumors circulating that the Iranian government has released Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei. These rumors have not been confirmed. Physicians for Human Rights does not credit current rumors that the Alaei brothers have been set free.

There was a Persian language report on the Iranian news site, news.gooya.com, stating that Arash and Kamiar Alaei had been released. PHR has not obtained any confirmation of this report, and we have multiple sources discrediting the claim of the Alaei brothers’ release.

For example, Maziar Behari is the Iranian documentary filmmaker who directed a documentary on the Alaei brothers for the BBC in 2004, and he is Newsweek’s correspondent in Teheran. Behari has just posted a note on the Wall of a Facebook group for the Alaei brothers, stating:

There are false news on Iranian websites that Arash and Kamiar were freed yesterday. I just talked to the family and they’re still in prison.

Also, BBC World Service and its Persian News have also communicated to PHR that these rumors of the Alaei brothers’ release are NOT confirmed.

Likewise Voice of America has told PHR that they have not confirmed the rumors either.