PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/108/2008
06 August 2008
UA 216/08 Arbitrary arrest/
Detention without charge
IRAN
Dr Arash Alaei (m), doctor
Dr Kamiar Alaei (m), doctor,
brother of Arash Alaei
Brothers Arash Alaei
and Kamiar Alaei, both of whom are doctors specialising in the prevention and
management of HIV and AIDS, were arrested in June. They are believed to be held
without charge in Tehran's Evin Prison. E’temad newspaper in Iran has
reported that the brothers are held on "suspicion of plotting to overthrow
the government". Amnesty International fears their arrest may be
politically motivated and based on the brothers’ association with non
governmental organizations based in the US.
Dr Arash Alaei was
arrested by Iranian security forces on 22 June. The following morning, they
escorted him to his mother’s house in Tehran, where they found his brother, Dr
Kamiar Alaei, and arrested him too. They also seized documents belonging to the
brothers.
Arash and Kamiar
Alaei are well known for their work on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment,
especially for their work to prevent the spread of HIV among drug users. Both
doctors have travelled abroad as a result of their work, and Dr Kamiar Alaei is
a doctoral candidate at the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany School
of Public Health. He holds a Masters degree in International Health from
Harvard University and is due to resume his studies in Albany later in 2008.
Earlier this year, the US-based non-governmental organization (NGO), the Asia
Society, named him as a Fellow, "one of 23 new Fellows identified as being
among the most promising trendsetters and emerging leaders in the Asia-Pacific region."
Dr Arash Alaei is the former Director of the International Education and
Research Cooperation of the Iranian National Research Institute of Tuberculosis
and Lung Disease. Neither man is known to have been involved in political
activities.
Iran’s response to
HIV/AIDS has been accorded international respect, particularly the preventative
measures promoted by Drs Arash and Kamiar Alaei. According to the 2008 Report
on the Global AIDS Epidemic (published by UNAIDS on 29 July 2008 and available
at http://www.unaids.org/) “the… support for needle exchange projects in
countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran … serve as clear examples of
courageous, visionary leadership in the response to HIV”. However, the
government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which took office in August 2005,
has started to remove its support of such centres.
On 3 August, Tehran's
deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad was quoted as saying, "A case has been
filed whose defendants are two brothers. They held conferences on such topics
as AIDS, which drew the attention of domestic and foreign organisations and
NGOs," and that "they would organise foreign trips for people and
train them. They were aware of what they were doing, and their training was of
the nature of a velvet revolution." However, Haddad did not confirm that
Dr Arash Alaei and Dr Kamiar Alaei are currently in detention.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
in Persian, English, Arabic or your own language:
- seeking
confirmation that Dr Arash Alaei and Dr Kamiar Alaei are currently held at Evin
Prison, and asking for the reasons for their detention;
- calling on the
authorities to ensure that they are not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- urging that they be
released unless they are to be tried for a recognizably criminal offence in
proceedings meeting fair trial standards;
- seeking assurances
that Iran remains committed to effective treatment and prevention of HIV as
promoted by Dr Arash Alaei and Dr Kamiar Alaei.
APPEALS TO:
President
His Excellency
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue,
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
Salutation: Your
Excellency
Minister of
Intelligence
Gholam Hossein
Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of
Information
Second Negarestan
Street
Pasdaran Avenue
Tehran, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your
Excellency
Head of the
Judiciary
His Excellency
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e
Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St., Vali Asr
Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran 1316814737,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir(In
the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your
Excellency
COPIES TO:
Minister of Health
and Medical Education
His Excellency Dr
Kamran Baqeri Lankarani
Ministry of Health
Jomhouri-ye Eslami
Avenue
Hafez Crossing
Tehran, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 8836
4100 (unreliable; please try three times and if it fails please send email)
Email: Lankarani@mohme.gov.ir/
minister@mohme.gov.ir/
pro@mohme.gov.ir
and to diplomatic
representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND
APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your
section office, if sending appeals after 16 September 2008.
