AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

AAAS Action Alerts

The AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program calls attention to human rights abuses involving scientists and scientific communities through the circulation of Action Alerts issued by professional associations on behalf of their colleagues or by human rights organizations.

Cases that are publicized through the Action Alerts are researched and developed by the association or organization that submits the call for action. The alerts provide important background information on the case(s), and recommend specific actions to support the victim(s) of human rights abuse. The Action Alerts reach hundreds of AAAS members and other concerned scientists and engineers who are a part of SRHRL's network.

2009 Action Alerts

From:	Physicians for Human Rights
Re:	Call for Urgent Action on behalf of Dr. Kamiar Alaei and Dr. Arash Alaei
Date:	January 6, 2009

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) urges action on the behalf of Dr. Kamiar Alaei and Dr. Arash Alaei, who have both been detained in Iran and tried on illegitimate charges.

Background

Dr. Kamiar Alaei, a doctoral candidate at the SUNY Albany School of Public Health, and Dr. Arash Alaei, a former Director of the International Education and Research Cooperation of the Iranian National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, have been detained in Iran for over six months.

Arash and Kamiar were subjected to a perfunctory trial December 31, 2008, and found guilty of communicating with an enemy state-politically motivated and illegitimate charges leveled in a patently unfair court proceeding. See PHR's recent press release for more information on their trial and on this case.

Arash and Kamiar are well known in Iran and internationally for their contributions to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. For more than 20 years, the Alaei brothers have been active in addressing problems relating to drug use, with a focus on the spread of HIV/AIDS, and have played a key role in putting these issues on the national health care agenda. They have worked closely with government and religious leaders to ensure support for education campaigns on HIV transmission, including those targeting youth, and for HIV and harm reduction programs in prisons. They have also worked to share their expertise with neighboring countries by holding training workshops for Afghan and Tajik health care professionals.

Spend just a few minutes today to take action on their behalf, and make a major difference in their lives and in the lives of people with HIV in Iran.

Take Action Today

• Call the Iranian Mission to the UN at +1-212-687-2020 and urge Iran to release the Alaeis immediately. See the petition at http://actnow-phr.org/campaign/drop_the_charges for talking points. Feel free to add any details about how you know them, and to emphasize their great work on HIV/AIDS.
• Sign the new petition on their behalf, urging Iran to stop this sham court proceeding and release the Alaeis. As soon as you sign on, an email with your message will be sent directly to the Iranian Mission to the UN, and will be added to a list of concerned citizens. We want to inundate the mission with calls for their release. Help us reach 500 signatures by the end of today!

Talking points for Call:

1. Introduce yourself and where you are calling from ex "My name is Paul and I am a doctor/medical student/health professional in Boston/Paris/Kampala etc.
2. Tell them why you are calling ex. "Treating AIDS is not a crime. Drs Alaei should be immediately released to continue their lifesaving work on HIV/AIDS for the people of Iran.
3. Add any details about how you know Kamiar or Arash ex "I was a student with Kamiar at Harvard School of Public Health"

After you make the call, let us know by emailing skalloch [at] phrusa [dot] org . The first 5 people to email Sarah will receive a beaded AIDS ribbon handmade by a women's art organization in South Africa as our thanks for taking action.

This Action Alert was posted by the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program on behalf of the Physicians for Human Rights.