Two years ago, Kamiar Alaei, MD, and Arash Alaei, MD, were arrested in Iran, just as they were preparing to leave for Mexico to present on their innovative harm reduction work at the XVII International AIDS Conference.On July 18, the world convenes again for the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria—but will be short two shining stars. Arash and Kamiar remain in jail today. The Iranian government accused the brothers of using trips to AIDS and public health conferences around the world to “foment a velvet revolution” and sentenced them to years in prison. We say treating AIDS is not a crime.Friends and colleagues of the Alaeis will be in Vienna spreading the word about their case and advocating for their release, and PHR will be supporting them all the way.Will you be in Vienna at the AIDS conference? To volunteer with these efforts, email Clint Trout at clintworldwide [at] yahoo [dot] com.Want to take action to support the Alaeis? Sign our new petition, calling on the government of Iran to free the Alaeis.Throughout their careers, the Alaeis have promoted public health diplomacy and supported the quest for shared solutions to the world’s shared disease burden. It is an outrage to call this treason. Medical professionals should not be put in prison for doing their jobs. Take action today and stand in solidarity with the Alaeis.See the Background page at IranFreeTheDocs.org for more information on their case.
