HIV Doctor Brothers Detained In Iranian Prison
Renowned HIV/AIDS doctors, and brothers, Arash and Kamyar Alaei, remain in an Iranian prison with no indication from authorities that charges will be laid or that the two men can expect release.
The brothers, first detained over a month ago, have played a key role in promoting the treatment and prevention of AIDS in an area of the world where reports of infection with the virus are consistently on the rise.
Iran is situated amongst a number of what the UN terms NICs or newly independent countries, and are nations that have reported some of “the fastest growing AIDS epidemics in the world”. Up until now Iran’s own response has been highly regarded. But the unexpected detention of the brothers has drawn criticism from human rights groups and worldwide health organisations, many indicating that this tarnishes the reputation of the work Iran has already done in preventing an epidemic.
The World Health Organisation places figures for HIV infection between 22,000 and 30,000 in Iran. With Iran laying on a major trafficking route for narcotics, before imprisonment the brothers worked tirelessly to promote HIV education amongst drug users, half of which are estimated to be married, and prostitutes.
The American based group Physicians For Human Rights released a statement on Saturday calling on the government of Iran to “disclose [the brother’s] whereabouts, provide them access to lawyers and family, and either to charge them with an internationally recognised crime or release them immediately.”
There has been speculation that the brothers’ arrest comes as Iranian authorities increasingly target academics with ties to the US and the West. Kamiar Alaei is a doctoral candidate at the University of Albany in the USA, and the brothers have appeared in a BBC documentary on the topic of Iranian drug users.
The brothers were due to take part in the 17th International AIDS conference in Mexico next month and had been asked to speak about some of Iran’s pioneering HIV programs.
HIV medication is distributed free of charge by the government in Iran. A telephone counselling initiative has been started and 10 million HIV brochures, designed by the Alaei brothers, have been distributed – an initiative praised for negotiating the taboos of sexuality and drug use in what is considered a religiously conservative country.
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DeepBlueDreamer
said on the 31st Jul, 2008