We are so happy to report that Dr. Arash Alaei has been released from Iran’s Evin Prison in Tehran. Arash’s brother, Dr. Kamiar Alaei says:

I want to thank everybody around the world who campaigned for the release of my brother and me. They did a wonderful job during the past three years, and without the support of Physicians for Human Rights and the Coalition to Free the Alaeis, it is highly likely we would not be celebrating Arash’s release today.

Nature.com today posts an interview by Priya Shetty with Dr. Kamiar Alaei, given during the recent International AIDS Society meetings in Rome.

Excerpt:

Q) Did you ever think you would be in prison one day yourself?
A) Never. We never expected to be arrested. The worst scenario we imagined if the new government was not happy with our work was that they would tell us not to continue. We would then have asked them how they wanted us to implement or design our programmes. We would have adapted.

The interview highlights both the important work the Alaeis did prior to their detention, and the work they continued in prison. Please sign the petition to demand the release of Dr. Arash Alaei.

Already signed the petition? Thank you. Join our social media campaign to help free Dr. Arash Alaei:

• Share on Twitter: Call on #Iran leader @khamenei_ir to free imprisoned AIDS doctor Arash Alaei immediately bit.ly/ou4pAR
• Share on Facebook: Today is a Global Day of Action for Dr. Arash Alaei. Sign the petition urging the Supreme Leader of Iran to immediately release the imprisoned AIDS doctor! http://bit.ly/ou4pAR
• Share via email: Today is a Global Day of Action for Dr. Arash Alaei. PHR and its supporters are appealing for the immediate release of the internationally renowned HIV/AIDS doctor from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. Drs. Arash and Kamiar Alaei were wrongfully convicted in January 2009 on charges of communicating with the enemy government. Last year, Dr. Kamiar Alaei was released and today he will speak at the annual International AIDS Society Conference and make a public appeal for the release of his brother.

Please take a moment today to sign the petition urging the Supreme Leader of Iran to immediately release the imprisoned AIDS doctor! See the background page for more information.

On July 1, 2011, prominent physicians and organizations delivered a private appeal (pdf) to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran calling for Dr. Arash Alaei’s release. We have not received a response from the Iranian authorities so please sign the public petition today!

Health professionals, scientists and citizens call for immediate release of jailed doctor in Iran

Cambridge, Mass. – Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today announced a Global Day of Action for Dr. Arash Alaei during which health professionals, scientists and concerned citizens will appeal to the Iranian authorities for the immediate release of the internationally renowned HIV/AIDS doctor. During today’s Global Day of Action, PHR and its supporters will engage in a social media and viral campaign to call for the release of Dr. Arash Alaei from Iranian prison.

Drs. Arash and Kamiar Alaei are internationally renowned HIV/AIDS physicians who were arrested in June 2008 and wrongfully convicted in January 2009 on charges of communicating with an enemy government. The Iranian government used the doctors’ travel to international AIDS conferences and meetings with colleagues in the United States as a basis for the charges. In late 2010, Dr. Kamiar Alaei was released following 870 days in prison in Iran, but Dr. Arash Alaei remains in Evin Prison in Tehran.

On Tuesday, July 19at the annual International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome, PHR and International AIDS Society will convene a press conference with Dr. Kamiar Alaei where he will describe his work and make a public appeal for the release of his imprisoned brother. Moderating the press conference will be Susannah Sirkin, Deputy Director of PHR.

WHEN

19 July 2011, 10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

WHERE

IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention
Auditorium del Parco della Musica
Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30
Press Conference Room in the Media Center
Rome, Italy

Sign the petition, which includes as signatories prominent AIDS leaders in medicine, science and education, urging the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, to immediately release Dr. Arash Alaei.

MEDIA CONTACT
Megan Prock
Senior Press Officer
mprock [at] phrusa [dot] org
Tel: 617-301-4237
Cell: 617-510-3417