Several major international organizations, both human rights and international health organizations, have joined together to call for the unconditional release of Dr. Arash Alaei from prison in Iran.
Today, July 19, marks the Global Day of Action to call for the immediate and unconditional release of the brother of our DrPH student. As many of you are aware, Kamiar Alaei, a Doctor of Public Health student at our School of Public Health, was arrested along with his older brother, Arash, in June 2008 when he (Kamiar) returned to Iran for a summer internship. They were charged with communicating with an enemy government, ours. Both Kamiar and Arash had been internationally recognized and celebrated for the work they had done in Iran by establishing "triangular clinics," a project documented by WHO/EMRO as a "best practice" in the region, focusing on HIV, STD, and IDU prevention, harm reduction, and combatting stigma and discrimination against people living with AIDS. After a sham trial, they were convicted and Kamiar was sentenced to three years and Arash was sentenced to six years, sentences to be served in the notorious Evan Prison in Tehran.
A campaign to free them (http://www.iranfreethedocs.org/) was begun soon after their arrests and many human rights organizations were very vocal in calling for their release. Late last year, we were filled with joy when Kamiar, who had served well over half of his sentence, was granted a conditional release and able to return to our community and his doctoral studies.
Now Kamiar has completed the full term of his sentence and is able to lead the efforts being undertaken again by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Amnesty International, and other organizations, to free his brother who has completed half of his sentence and is, under Iranian law, eligible for a conditional release.
PHR has said, "Dr. Arash Alaei has worked tirelessly to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and addiction and demonstrated unwavering dedication to helping improve the lives of his countrymen and women by protecting them from disease and death. The Drs. Alaei are global leaders in programs to end discrimination against injection drug users in Iran and helped to develop and implement Iran's progressive policies on needle exchange and AIDS prevention and care inside and outside of prisons.
"Health professinals must be able to implement HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment without fear of reprisals and should not be imprisoned on the basis of their professional work for the prevention of HIV and care of people affected by the disease.
"Ending Dr. Arash Alaei's confinement will benefit public health in Iran and will have a positive impact on the international medical community and the efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. With his release, Dr. Alaei can continue his life-saving work for the benefit of humanity.
"Please visit http://www.iranfreethedocs.org/ and sign the petition asking the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Dr. Arash Alaei immediately so that he can continue his important public health work."
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