AIDS, health and human rights groups in 20 countries—the US, Mexico, Argentina, Guyana, Thailand, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Turkey–took action Tuesday to free the Alaeis.

• Thailand: The Thai Treatment Action Group met with the Iranian Ambassador to Thailand in Bangkok.
• Guyana: Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, the Minister of Health in Guyana and President of the World Medical Assembly, liaised with The Iranian Embassy in Venezuela to demand their release and garnered significant media coverage on the case in the Caribbean.
• Kenya: A PLWA group in Kenya sent a letter to the Iranian Embassy in Nairobi.
• Canada: The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network sent a letter to the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa and will involve their parliament in this case.
• Italy: MEDU in Italy talked to press in Rome and sent a statement to the Iranian Embassy in Italy.
• Turkey: The Turkish Medical Association alerted its members to the case.
• Netherlands: The International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organizations mobilized its members to sign the petition and sent a letter to the Iranian Embassy in the Netherlands
• Argentina: 10 leading health and human rights groups sent a letter tot he Iranian Ambassador in Buenos Aires demanding the Alaeis be released.
• Geneva: The Health Workforce Advocacy Initiative sent a statement urging the Alaeis’ release to the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva

The World Medical Association, The EU, and The International AIDS Society have all called for the Alaeis release. Indeed, the scientific and medical community is rallying around Kamiar and Arash: Nature Magazine and the Lancet and the British Medical Journal have all condemned their conviction as a violation of scientific freedom.

The world is watching. Iran, Free the Docs!

We’ll continue to post statements and photos from events around the world; stay tuned!

The vigil in New York City yesterday was amazing and moving and powerful. More than 30 doctors, medical and public health students, harm reduction experts, and friends and colleagues of Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei gathered outside the Iranian mission to the UN. People held photos of their detained friends and spoke eloquently about their work and their life – and their ability to bridge cultural divides and move medicine to new places. We know President Ahmadinejad heard our message: at private events in New York this week, he was in fact handed the petition, translated into Farsi and listing the names of the more than 3200 people from 85 countries who have signed on so far.

Below are Ali Khan’s remarks from yesterday. Ali is a medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School, is getting his MPP at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and is on PHR’s Board.

As a physician in training, I believe it is imperative for health professionals to speak out in defense of the human rights of our colleagues at risk.

As an American Muslim, I am morally compelled to battle social injustice and inequality wherever it exists.

As a human being, I know a raw deal when I see it.

We convene here today, in the shadow of the Iranian delegation to the UN, to honor the work of two courageous Iranian colleagues. Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei, Iranian physicians and international leaders in HIV/AIDS care, should be standing alongside us – as they have so often in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. Dr. Kamiar Alaei should be in Albany now, continuing his second year of doctoral studies at the SUNY-Albany School of Public Health. Dr. Arash Alaei should be preventing and treating HIV/AIDS at a clinic in his home region of Kermanshah in northwest Iran. For the past three months, however, the Alaei brothers have been detained by the Iranian government in the notorious Section 209 of its Evin prison – detained without formal charge and without regard to their basic human rights.

The reason for that detention? Suspicion that their work in the international AIDS arena could inspire a “velvet revolution” – that is, their work in advocating for improved HIV/AIDS care in Iran, in collaborating with international non-governmental organizations and in teaching and recruiting others to careers in public health.

That’s not a crime – that’s good medicine.

I urge the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the Drs. Alaei so that they can continue their vital medical and public health work for the betterment of the people of Iran and the world. During this holy month of Ramadan, each day that the Alaei brothers are detained is a mockery of the Islamic tenets of equality, social justice and law – and represents a violation of their basic human rights.

Dare to act on this critically important issue. Visit IranFreeTheDocs.org.

I will continue to post the speeches from yesterday so that everyone can read about Kamiar and Arash, and who they are, and what the world is missing while they are languishing in Evin Prison, so keep reading, and feel free to share your thoughts and stories about the brothers here.

Ali Khan speaks at the vigil.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and a coalition of health and human rights groups held a silent vigil and press conference today at noon in front of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations (622 3rd Avenue, NYC) to call for the release of the Doctors Alaei. It is now known that they are being held, still without charge, in the notorious section 209 of Iran’s Evin prison. To date, the brothers have been allowed only one meeting with their attorney and family.

The vigil and press conference was timed to coincide with Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York City for the UN General Assembly.

PHR Board member and VCU med student Ali Khan calls for the release of imprisoned Iranian colleagues at a vigil in front of Iran's UN Mission.

[Cross-posted on PHRfightsAIDS.org]

From left: Sarah Kalloch and Frank Donaghue of PHR and Joe Amon from Human Rights Watch.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Human Rights Watch organized an urgent press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Mexico City to call attention to the situation of two prominent Iranian AIDS physicians, Drs. Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, frequent delegates and presenters at past IAS International AIDS Conferences, who were detained by Iranian security in late June, 2008.

The brothers remain incommunicado, their whereabouts unknown, without access to their attorney.

On Sunday, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse cited Iranian news reports stating that the brothers have been charged with participating in “a velvet revolution,” partly due to their activities at international AIDS conferences, such as the one currently taking place in Mexico City. Dr. Arash Alaei had been slated to speak here on a panel on Thursday. Advocates will place a large color photo of him in his place and invite members of the press to join the discussion.

PHR, Human Rights Watch and other groups have launched an international web site and petition. Over two thousand people have already signed the petition calling for the doctors’ release.

“If international media reports are accurate, then the allegations made against the Drs. Alaei are illegitimate and politically motivated,” stated PHR’s CEO Frank Donaghue.

“The Iranian government must demonstrate that the current allegations are credible and ensure that the Alei brothers have access to legal counsel,” said Joe Amon, Director of the Health and Human Rights division at Human Rights Watch. “And they must recognize that these charges stifle the country’s efforts to effectively address AIDS and to serve as a model for the region.”

In conjunction with PHR and the HIV Medical Association, sixteen of the top infectious disease doctors in the world have written a letter to the Minister of Health and Medical Education in Iran on behalf of the doctors. This and other supporting documents are available at IranFreeTheDocs.org.

Physicians for Human Rights has a long history of intervening in cases of wrongful detention, and just released a major report on detention and torture sanctioned by the US government, Broken Laws, Broken Lives.

The case in Iran is receiving growing international attention; see, for example:

• Voice of America and
• Agence France Presse

(Mexico City) A coalition of AIDS and human rights organizations that includes Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) has launched a campaign to free two Iranian physicians, Drs. Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei. The doctors, who are brothers, are active in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment in Iran.

According to international news reports, Iranian security forces detained the Drs. Alaei in late June, 2008 and are holding them incommunicado. The doctors’ whereabouts remain unknown. On Sunday, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse cited Iranian news reports stating that the brothers have been charged with participating in “a velvet revolution,” partly due to their activities at international AIDS conferences, such as the one currently taking place in Mexico City. Dr. Arash Alaei had been slated to speak here Thursday.

“If international media reports are accurate, then the allegations made against the Drs. Alaei are illegitimate and politically motivated,” stated PHR’s CEO Frank Donaghue.

“The Iranian government must provide the Alaei brothers with immediate access to legal counsel and to their families,” said Joe Amon, Director of the Health and Human Rights division at HRW.

PHR has launched a web site, IranFreeTheDocs.org, which is collecting signatures on a petition to the government of Iran, urging it to respect and uphold the doctors’ basic human rights. And in conjunction with PHR and the HIV Medical Association, sixteen of the top infectious disease doctors in the world have written a letter to the Minister of Health and Medical Education in Iran on behalf of the doctors. This and other supporting documents are available at IranFreeTheDocs.org.

“These charges stifle the country’s efforts to address AIDS effectively and to serve as a model for the region,” added Donaghue. “We urge the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release them immediately so that they can continue their important medical and public health work for the betterment of the people of Iran and the world.”

Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) is a nongovernmental organization based in New York that monitors and reports on international human rights, refugee, and humanitarian law issues in more than 70 countries around the world.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) mobilizes the health professions to advance the health and dignity of all people by protecting human rights. As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.