Check out this great article from Paul Grondahl at the Albany Times-Union about the Alaeis:

Forum a chance to urge freedom

Supporters of doctors jailed in Iran seek to rally support for their release

By PAUL GRONDAHL, Staff writer

First published: Friday, February 12, 2010

ALBANY — Dr. Kamiar Alaei, a University at Albany public health doctoral student and an internationally recognized AIDS physician, remains confined after 18 months in an Iranian prison with his brother, Arash, also an AIDS doctor.

On Monday, supporters will have an opportunity to press for their release during a session at the United Nations, which coincides with an appeal from the brothers’ lawyer and a lobbying campaign.

The brothers, who ran AIDS clinics in Iran for several years that offered treatment to IV drug users, were sentenced last year to 3 to 6 years on charges of plotting to overthrow the government after a one-day secret trial in December 2008. They were sent to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison and placed in solitary confinement for months.

The group organizing efforts to win the freedom of the Alaei brothers, Physicians for Human Rights, called the charges trumped-up and politically motivated. The group’s slogan is ”Treating AIDS is not a crime.”

“The Alaeis’ lawyer is hopeful about the appeal, but it’s important that people keep up the campaign to free the doctors because the human rights situation has gotten worse since the elections in June,” said Sarah Kalloch, director of outreach for Physicians for Human Rights.

The group is urging people to contact Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, to press for the brothers’ release during the Monday session, at which she can question Iranian officials on the country’s human rights record as part of a U.N. review.

“We want Ambassador Rice to use that opportunity to question the Iranians on the status of the Alaeis because it’s very hard to get information on what’s happening to them,” Kalloch said.

Supporters of the AIDS doctors have been harnessing the power of social networking media such as Facebook and Twitter. They’re hoping to win their release through a large-scale, relentless public opinion campaign, which is credited with helping to win the freedom of journalists Roxana Saberi and Maziar Bahari, who were also held in prison in Tehran. Bahari is a Newsweek reporter and filmmaker from Montreal who made a documentary on the Alaei brothers. He was released from Evin prison last fall after four months, just in time to witness the birth of his first child.

“Maziar continues to be a strong advocate for the release of the Alaeis,” Kalloch said. “Social networking media was very important in his release and we hope use it to free the AIDS doctors.”

Paul Grondahl can be reached at 518-454-5623 or by e-mail at pgrondahl [at] timesunion [dot] com.

How to help

To urge Ambassador Susan Rice to press Iranian leaders for the release of the Alaei brothers during a Monday U.N. session, call her office at (212) 415-4062.

More about the campaign to win the AIDS doctors’ release can be found on the Background page, as well as earlier blog posts.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of the Alaeis. We are hearing good news out of Tehran: the Alaeis’ lawyer has filed another appeal and is hopeful that this one will be granted. Check out the article in the Boston Globe, also quoted below, for more details.

In the meantime, we are gearing up for action around the UN Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism that evaluates the human rights record of every country every four years. Iran will be reviewed February 15, 2010. We’ll need your help to make sure the Alaeis are on the agenda.

To highlight their case, we are organizing a National Call-in day next week — check back here for details on how you can contact UN Ambassador Susan Rice and urge her to ask the Iranian delegation about the Alaeis, and demand their release.

Lawyer says two Iranian doctors may soon be released on appeal

By Farah Stockman

Globe Staff / January 23, 2010

WASHINGTON – Two celebrated Iranian AIDS doctors with ties to Boston who were convicted in Iran of trying to overthrow the regime could soon be released from prison on appeal, according to their lawyer.

“Their case is very hopeful,’’ attorney Masoud Shafie said in a recent telephone interview from Iran.

Kamiar Alaei, who earned a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, and his brother, Arash Alaei, started a string of AIDS clinics in Iran and participated in the first State Department-funded exchange program with Revolutionary Iran in 2006, which included tours of medical facilities in Boston and meetings with Boston-area doctors.

Initially, the Iranian government appeared to support their work. But in June 2008, they were arrested and accused of “communications with an enemy government’’ and “seeking to overthrow the Iranian government.’’

In January 2009, after a one-day trial, Kamiar was sentenced to three years in prison and Arash was sentenced to six, according to Physicians for Human Rights, a Cambridge-based organization that has been petitioning for their release.

Thousands of people from around the world and hundreds from Boston’s medical community have organized events and written letters to push for their release, including former classmates at Harvard’s School of Public Health and the school’s dean, Barry R. Bloom.

“Their peers have kept their case in the news and on the front burner for human rights organizations, even though the human rights situation in Iran has gotten a lot more complex,’’ said Sarah Kalloch, director of outreach at Physicians for Human Rights.

Rumors of their release have been circulating for weeks.

In a recent telephone interview, Shafie, a prominent Iranian defense lawyer, said he launched an appeal “based upon the fact that America is not a hostile state and we are not at war with them.’’

The three-judge appeals panel accepted his request that the conviction be overturned, he said, and now he is waiting for final approval from the head of Iran’s judiciary, Sadeq Larijani.

It is unclear whether two others convicted with them – Silva Harotonian, a maternal health worker for an international organization, and Mohammad Ehsani, a filmmaker – will be released.

Media Contact:
Sarah Kalloch
Outreach Director
skalloch [at] phrusa [dot] org
+1-617-301-4235

——————————————————————————–

(Cambridge, MA) – One year ago this week, Iranian authorities arrested Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei, internationally renowned Iranian HIV/AIDS physicians, for practicing medicine. On this somber anniversary for friends, family and colleagues of the Alaeis, Iran is witnessing increasing violence and a litany of alleged human rights abuses. As post-election violence in Iran continues, PHR urges the Iranian government to protect the human rights of everyone within its borders and to respect both international law and human rights provisions in Iran’s own constitution.

In the aftermath of Iran’s presidential elections, held June 12, 2009, hundreds of people have been detained, including Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, a friend of the Alaeis, who directed a moving documentary in 2004 on their AIDS work, called Mohammad and the Matchmaker. Reports from Iran state that many demonstrators have been beaten, and some killed, while hundreds of others have been detained. The Iranian government has severely limited freedom of the press during this time, expelling foreign journalists and cutting off cell phone and internet access at various periods throughout the past two weeks. PHR is deeply concerned for the safety of everyone detained in Iran, including the Drs. Alaei.

On the one-year anniversary of their arrest, PHR renews our call to the Iranian government to release Arash and Kamiar Alaei so that they can continue their life-saving medical work in Iran and worldwide.

Background

After a perfunctory trial in December 2008, Kamiar and Arash were convicted of “communicating with an enemy government” and sentenced to three and six years, respectively, in Evin Prison in Tehran. The Alaeis’ crime: traveling the world and liaising with health workers across the globe to find solutions to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Said Sarah Kalloch, Director of Outreach at PHR:

Iran can not equate public health diplomacy and the quest for shared solutions to the world’s shared disease burden to treason. It is a dangerous and maddening fallacy and a danger to the people of Iran to keep science stifled and scientists in jail.

Protect the Rights of All

PHR also urges Iranian authorities to protect the human rights of all people in Iran during this post-election crisis. The Iranian authorities must respect the right to free assembly that is articulated in both International Human Rights Law and in the Iranian Constitution.

PHR is also concerned about reports of alleged violations of Medical Neutrality by the Iranian government. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has reported that people seeking medical attention for injuries suffered during demonstrations are being arrested in hospitals, and that doctors are being forced to report to state security any injuries that appear to be related to protests.

This puts doctors in Iran in a desperate position: obey the state or care for their patients. Ms Kalloch continued:

The Iranian Government must allow health professionals to treat patients regardless of their political leanings. Doctors have an ethical duty to prevent and limit suffering of patients in their care and a duty to practice medicine in a neutral way without fear or favor.

The need for human rights protection for the Alaeis, for our colleague Mazier Bahari, and for all Iranians, has never been greater. The Iranian Government must respect the universal freedoms and rights of its people as recognized by the international community and the laws of Iran.

You may have seen reports from Iran about the detention of Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari. According to Reporters without Borders, he is one of over 20 journalists and bloggers detained since the June 12 elections.

But what you might not have seen is this amazing 2004 documentary Maziar Bahari directed for the BBC, Mohammad and the Matchmaker.

This 3-part film describes the innovative approach Drs Arash and Kamiar Alaei brought to their HIV/AIDS patients; moving beyond the traditional role of medical provider, providing social services to their patients and even helping them find love.

Please sign the petition and ask Iran to release the Drs Alaei so they can again take up their important work against HIV/AIDS.

On Friday, June 12, over thirty million Iranians went to the polls to vote in the country’s presidential election. Although the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claims victory by a significant margin, leading opposition candidate Mir Houssein Mousavi is challenging the results. The Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader,  is calling for an investigation into election results and administration.

Protesters from both candidates’ camps have filled the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities since early election results were released. Post-election violence has brought increased attention from the media, Iranian authorities, and international leaders to election results. Human rights supporters are concerned about violence in Iran and hope that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s proposed inquiry into the election results is thorough and yields a just resolution.

It is of course unknown how these highly contested election results might affect the case of Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei, but supporters of the Alaeis are continuing to advocate for the brothers’ release, and are examining strategies for effectively targeting future action.

Read election updates and analysis from the New York Times or the Guardian (UK) to learn more.

The opposition candidates in the Iranian Presidential Election are using Facebook as a primary organizing tool to get elected.

We can use that fact to call on them to free Kamiar and Arash if either is elected. Take Action Now!

Post a message to their Facebook Pages asking them to release Kamiar and Arash. It’s really easy, here’s how:

• Go to the Facebook pages of:
  • Mir-Hossein Mousavi
  • Mehdi Karroubi

• Below the candidate’s photo on the left column, click the link that says “become a supporter”

• Click tab on top of page to go to their “Wall”
• Paste this message in the text box, just below where it says “Write Something…”

سرور گرامی،

من از شما می خواهم تادر مبارزات انتخاباتی خودبه مسئله پزشکان ایرانی،کامیاروآرش علایی توجه کنید.این دو پزشک از بزرگترین محققان بین المللی در زمینه پیشگیری و درمان بیماری ایدز می باشندودرژانویه سال2009،آنهابه جرم”ارتباط با دولت متخاصم” محکوم شدند.این اتهام بیپایه و نشانگر تلفیق ناعادلانه دیپلماسی بهداشت عمومی با خیانت به کشوراست.من از شما میخواهم تادر صورت انتخاب شدن به ریاست جمهوری،بلافاصله این پزشکان راآزادنمایید.اقدام به آزادی آنهارئوفت وشفقت اسلامی شمارابرای مردم ایران وجامعه جهانی نمایان خواهد کرد.

http://IranFreetheDocs.org

• Click the blue box labeled “Share”

• Once you are done, forward this message to all of your friends and colleagues on Facebook and ask them to take action too.

As June 22, the one-year anniversary of the Alaeis’ arrests, approaches, continued advocacy for their freedom becomes increasingly important. Take action today!

For more information on the Iranian Elections, check out this NYTimes article.

Here is the English translation of the letter to the Iranian Presidential Candidates.

Your Excellency,

As you campaign for the Iranian Presidency, I urge you to consider the case of Dr. Kamiar Alaei and Dr. Arash Alaei, international leaders in AIDS prevention and treatment who were tried and convicted on charges of “communicating with enemy governments” in January 2009. These charges are unfounded, and reflect an unjust conflation of public health diplomacy with treason. If elected, I urge you to immediately free the doctors. Working for the Alaeis’ freedom would allow you to demonstrate Islamic kindness and mercy to the people of Iran and to the international community.

Amnesty International highlighted the imprisonment of the Alaei brothers in its annual report on the state of the world’s human rights. In a section on human rights in Iran, Amnesty International notes:

Brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei, both medical doctors specializing in HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, were arrested in June and detained without charge possibly because of their links with US-based NGOs and their criticism of government policy towards HIV and AIDs programmes. They faced an unfair trial on 31 December [2008], accused of having “co-operated” with an “enemy government” and seeking to overthrow the Iranian government. During the trial, the prosecutor told the court of additional, secret evidence which the brothers’ attorney had no opportunity to refute because the prosecutor did not disclose it.

This criticism of the Iranian government from a leading human rights research and advocacy organization puts additional pressure on Iranian authorities to free the Alaeis.

Amnesty International’s report emphasizes the toll the global economic crisis is taking on human rights. Financial Times included an interview Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan in an article on the recent release of the report:

“Underlying the economic crisis is an explosive human rights crisis. The economic downturn has aggravated abuses, distracted attention from them and created new problems,” Ms Khan said yesterday. “In the name of security, human rights were trampled on. Now, in the name of economic recovery, they are being relegated to the back seat.

“The world needs a new global deal on human rights – not paper promises but commitment and concrete action from governments to defuse the human rights time-bomb,” she said.

Don’t let the Alaeis’ freedom and the wellbeing of AIDS patients in Iran and around the world be forgotten in the midst of economic crisis. Take action today by signing the petition and/or writing a letter (sample letter) to the Iranian Embassy in your country calling for the release of the doctors.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health from Guyana and the President of the 61st World Health Assembly, called for the Alaeis’ freedom in a speech given on May 18 at the 62nd World Health Assembly in Geneva. The World Health Assembly brings together health ministers from World Health Organization member states to act as the governing body for the WHO. Dr. Ramsammy told the assembled crowd:

In doing our work, we are blessed with having a make-up for compassion and mercy. Before I close I would like to extend an appeal for compassion and mercy. And I would like to urge we all join in this appeal. Two of my colleagues, our public health colleagues, are presently in prison. I appeal to the authorities in Iran to show mercy and justice to these two young public health professionals.

A few days later, on May 21, Dr. Ramsammy gave a keynote address at Collaborating Across Borders II, a conference devoted to furthering interprofessional education and collaboration between the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Ramsammy repeated his call for the Alaeis’ freedom before the health scholars, educators and practitioners gathered in Halifax:

Before I close, health is about compassion and justice. Health professionals have responded to a call for justice and compassion. Two of our brothers are in prison in Iran. I do not know the reason for their imprisonment. I do know they served their sisters and brothers and were dedicated health care professionals. I have joined a group called Physicians for Human Rights which is trying to lobby support for freedom for the Alaei Brothers. Join us in raising your voices so that the Government of Iran may examine this case and perhaps grant mercy so that these brothers could continue their work in public health.

Ramsammy used these two speeches to highlight the importance of equal healthcare for all during this time of global economic crisis. The Alaeis’ freedom would improve quality and availability of healthcare for countless Iranian AIDS patients.

As the one-year anniversary of the Alaeis’ arrest draws closer, continued advocacy for their release becomes increasingly important. Please sign our petition or send a letter (sample letter) to the Iranian embassy in your country calling for their freedom. Arash and Kamiar Alaei need your help to continue their live-saving work for patients in Iran and around the world.

The overwhelming show of support by hundreds of concerned individuals who rallied at Iranian embassies on Tuesday and called for the release of the Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei continues to captivate media attention.

Vigils for the Global Day of Action on behalf of the Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei were held Tuesday at the Iranian Interests Section in DC, the United Nations in New York and locations in 20 other countries. Radio Free Europe reports:

Vigils were held in such far-flung locations as Kabul and Rome, Bangkok and Buenos Aires, and Nairobi and New York City… Participants demanded the release of the doctors, saying that “treating AIDS is not a crime.” According to PHR, more than 5,000 people from 130 countries have so far signed an online petition demanding the release of the Alaei brothers.

The Kaiser Foundation’s Daily HIV/AIDS report quoted PHR’s Jonathan Hutson as he mentioned the similarities between the cases of the Drs. Alaei and that of Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who was recently released:

Jonathan Hutson—a spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights, which is leading a campaign for the brothers’ release—said, “The release of Ms. Saberi has shifted the world’s attention to the plight of others who are likewise jailed in Iran on trumped-up charges.”

The Alaeis were jailed in June 2008 on false charges of conspiracy to overthrow the Iranian government, allegations that stem from their collaboration with international health groups. Allafrica.com also quotes Hutson as saying:

This is not an issue of politics, but of global health. The only battle they were engaged in is the public health battle to prevent and treat the deadly epidemic of AIDS. They need to be allowed to return to their lifesaving work.

Tuesday’s Global Day of Action on behalf of the Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei turned out hundreds of concerned doctors, activists and students demanding an end to the Alaeis’ wrongful imprisonment at vigils in the U.S. and 20 other countries.

The vigils in New York and in D.C. drew broadcast media attention from the BBC, Washington TV, NPR; a number of media outlets also covered the efforts of PHR and our allies after the fact.

The Albany Times-Union’s Paul Grondahl quoted PHR’s Jonathan Hutson connecting the case of the recently-released journalist Roxana Saberi and the Drs. Alaei, who remain detained despite being arrested on similarly false charges.

“The release of Ms. Saberi has shifted the world’s attention to the plight of others who are likewise jailed in Iran on trumped-up charges,” said Jonathan Hutson, spokesman for Physicians for Human Rights, the group leading the campaign for the Alaei brothers’ release.
“We are asking Iran to show Islamic kindness and to free these doctors,” Hutson said.

A blog post in Nature magazine also highlighted the similarities between the two cases. The Alaeis were charged with cooperating with a hostile state for their participation in U.S. health conferences.

Saberi’s conviction for “cooperating with a hostile state” was overthrown on the grounds that the United States is not hostile to Iran, according to an editorial in the Boston Globe. The reversal has diplomatic overtones, writes the Globe, which should also apply to the doctors.

An article in the Inter-Press Service describes how the Alaeis were jailed for no cause other than working with international colleagues while expanding AIDS treatment in Iran, a feat for which they were once recognized by the World Health Organization.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which organised the protest, says that the doctors are only guilty of sharing their knowledge and expertise as HIV physicians. “The Alaei brothers were arrested for doing good medicine,” Peter Witzler from PHR told IPS.

Even behind bars, Arash and Kamiar Alaei are continuing their work. They have volunteered to work as physicians in Tehran’s Evin Prison hospital, and are assisting local staff in treating patients with HIV and tuberculosis.

Washington TV interviewed PHR Washington Director John Bradshaw at the scene of the D.C. vigil at the Iranian Interests Section for a video report.

John Bradshaw, director of PHR, said that the Alaeis were arrested only for their work with the international medical community.

“Just for doing that, for having contact with outsiders, the regime arrested them and said they were trying to overthrow the government – and it’s really an illegitimate charge,” he told Washington TV.

The doctors’ first appeal was denied, and last week their lawyer filed their final appeal. We hope that our combined global efforts yesterday have made an impact on Iranian policymakers as they evaluate the Alaeis’ case for the final time. Thank you to everyone who took part at Iranian Embassies around the world or online at our virtual vigil, for making Global Alaei Day a huge success.

The Global Day of Action for the Alaeis has launched with a coast to coast media blitz. The New York Times, Boston Globe and LA Times all called for the release of the Alaeis in Editorials today. The New York Times pointed out the treacherous working condition for professionals in Iran and called the Alaeis’ trial unfair and their sentences “horrifying.”

The Boston Globe wrote:

“If Iran’s leaders want to convey a message of conciliation and justice, they should have (Arash and Kamiar Alaei) exonerated.”

Media coverage of the case is world-wide. BBC Persia has interviewed PHR’s Washington Director John Bradshaw, and the case is being covered by Italian Press, Radio Free Europe and more.

Want to help draw attention the Alaeis? Surf the blogs and make comments on articles mentioning the Alaeis, and/or write letters to the editor at national and international news agencies about the Alaeis, urging their release.

Roxana Saberi’s release yesterday has shifted attention to the Alaeis just as they are about to exhaust their legal options. Iran tied her release to the concept of Islamic kindness: it’s time for Iran to extend that kindness to the Alaeis, so they can continue their critical fight against AIDS in Iran.

Join the virtual vigil 11-1:00 today to hear from and chat with people around the world, and stand in solidarity with the Alaeis.

PHR staffer Olga Khazan has a letter to the editor published in today’s Washington Post which links the recent detainment of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi with the equally senseless jailing of the doctors Kamiar and Arash Alaei. Saberi, who was arrested in January on vague charges of spying, is yet another unfortunate casualty in Iran’s crackdown on Western collaboration.

From her letter:

In a similar case, the Iranian Revolutionary Court recently sentenced Kamiar and Arash Alaei, brothers who are world-renowned HIV/AIDS physicians, to three and six years in prison, respectively, for allegedly “communicating with enemy governments” because of their participation in global health conferences. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime has condemned countless Iranian journalists, activists and scientists on illegitimate charges without producing evidence to back them up. This crackdown on international exchange and academic freedom undermines the efforts of those who seek to shine a light on Iranian society and serve the Iranian people.

In closing his congratulatory letter to the newly elected President Obama, Mr. Ahmadinejad asked him “to use every chance to serve, to spread love and kindness, to eradicate oppression, [and] to do justice.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad should begin by spreading justice in his own country and releasing innocent citizens such as Ms. Saberi and the Alaeis. Whether reporting the news or treating devastating diseases, each deserves the opportunity to serve.

Iran’s crackdown on journalists, medics and human rights activists is an alarming trend that will only serve to stifle progress and cripple the work of Saberi, the Alaeis and others like them. PHR urges the government of Iran to release these and other innocent Iranian citizens so that they can continue to help and empower their countrymen.

The Czech Presidency of the European Union denounced Iran’s detention of the Drs. Alaei in a statement released today, the 33rd Anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Describing a trend of “increasing constraints on Iranian citizens’ freedom of expression and association,” the EU urged Iran to end human rights violations against students, journalists and human rights advocates.

Human rights defenders, journalists, students, trade unionists and others peacefully expressing their views or opinions are often charged under the vague auspices of public security….

In this respect, the European Union urgently calls on Iran to revoke the sentences against two HIV specialists, brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei, sentenced to prison for six and three years respectively.

The statement also urged the dropping of legal charges against journalists, bloggers and students, as well as the reopening of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was shuttered by Tehran authorities in December.

The EU also commended the positive achievements of Iranian citizens in the fields of medicine, culture and human rights, but it “expresses concern about the Iranian government’s violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a signatory.”

For the Alaeis, today’s ICCPR anniversary marks another day in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. As the doctors have committed no internationally-recogized crime, PHR continues to call on Iran to uphold its international commitments and release them.

Iran’s high HIV/AIDS rate is not only a health and societal problem, it’s a political one as well. Official Iranian numbers estimate that over 18,000 of the country’s people are living with AIDS. But a Tehran journalist writing under the pseudonym Mina Rasheed reports that the figure might be a low estimate because of stigma surrounding the disease.

“According to a statement by the World Health Organisation, we have to multiply this figure four or five times to reach the real figure of those infected with AIDS in Iran,” warned Masoud Mardani, a member of the AIDS National Committee.

Unfortunately, Rasheed writes, HIV/AIDS has also been politicized through the detention of Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei.

AIDS, however, is not just a social taboo; it has also become a political and security issue. In June 2008, two brothers who were pioneers in the fight against AIDS in Iran were arrested and charged with having contacts with “hostile governments”.

The Alaeis’ detention has hampered Iran’s capacity to meet the needs of AIDS patients and fight the spread of the disease. The Alaeis’ groundbreaking work included harm-reduction programs, regional health worker training sessions and participation in international health conferences.

The brothers had also written a five-year plan for tackling AIDS on a national level – a first for Iran.

Physicians for Human Rights has led a coalition of activists calling for the Alaei doctors’ release. PHR members have called attention to the case through a vigil and at the August 2008 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, where Dr. Arash Alaei was scheduled to speak. In addition, thousands of concerned citizens, as well as Nobel Laureates, MacArthur Genius Grant recipients and international medical leaders have written letters to Iranian officials on the Alaeis’ behalf. You can join the movement by signing our petition.

The jailing of the Drs. Alaei could stifle progress in HIV/AIDS treatment in Iran, according to a recent Lancet article on the conviction of the two Iranian doctors.

Kristen Elisabeth Solberg quotes PHR’s Jonathan Hutson:

“Public health will suffer in Iran and around the world,” said Jonathan Hutson, chief communications officer of US-based Physicians for Human Rights. “Training people in public health work, engaging with international non-governmental organizations, and attending conferences abroad are not crimes but good medicine”, said Hutson.

Solberg also notes that the convictions could be part of an Iranian government crackdown against Western ties, even when such collaboration brings about scientific advancement. Previously, Iran’s religious and government leaders had publicly approved of the Doctors Alaei’s development of harm reduction programs.

The conviction could signal a shift on HIV/AIDS; a warning against ties with the West; or a crackdown on activists ahead of June presidential elections, advocates say. Some campaigners remain hopeful that Iran’s government will respond to the international outcry from health professionals and release the brothers.

Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei have been detained since June 2008 in Tehran’s Evin prison. On Dec. 31, 2008, they were sentenced to six and three years’ imprisonment respectively, for “cooperating with an enemy government.” PHR has led the campaign to call for the Alaei doctors’ release.