The war between the United States, Israel, and Iran has continued to escalate over more than a month, with impacts expanding across the region and beyond. Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Human Rights, and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War renew our call for an immediate end to all fighting and a return to negotiations for […]

U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, gas treatment facilities and fuel storage depots, pose severe health and environmental risks to civilian populations in Iran, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) warned today. All parties to the conflict must cease attacks on energy infrastructure that lead to widespread […]

As the military conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States escalates and spreads across the Middle East, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including by protecting medical personnel and health facilities from attack and ensuring health care can function unimpeded.   “We are hearing alarming reports of health care […]

New testimonies from physicians inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, shared with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), add to mounting evidence from health care professionals about the scale and severity of the recent nationwide crackdown, which many observers describe as the most violent in the country’s recent history, including the 1979 Revolution.  “The doctors we’ve heard from are exhausted […]

The Islamic Republic of Iran must immediately stop the persecution, physical harm, and detention of all medical professionals who are reportedly being targeted for treating people injured during the recent protests, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today. “Evidence coming out of Iran points to tens of thousands of protesters killed or injured, many by […]

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) condemns the wanton and excessive force perpetrated by Iran’s security forces against demonstrators amid mass protests across the country. In light of increasing reports of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture, sexual violence, and killings of protestors and human rights defenders in Iran, PHR joins calls for an immediate, independent mechanism to […]

Doctors Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, two internationally-renowned HIV/AIDS physicians and brothers, were arrested in June 2008 by Iranian authorities. After six months of detention without charges or trial in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, the brothers were tried as conspirators working with an “enemy government” to overthrow the government of Iran, and on unspecified other […]

In June 2008, two well-known Iranian physicians and HIV/AIDS leaders, brothers Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, were detained by Iranian authorities. Held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison for six months without charges, they were finally tried in a one-day, closed-door trial in which the Alaeis were charged as conspirators working with an “enemy government” to […]

This blog post is part of PHR’s Tech & Human Rights Blog Series. The series is meant to highlight the intersection between technology and human rights, and examine the increasing role that technology can play in advancing human rights around the world. The lights flickered once, twice, and then cut out completely. Members of our […]

On November 9, 2011 Physicians for Human Rights welcomed brothers Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei to the National Press Club in Washington, DC for one of their first joint public appearances since their release from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. The doctors are renowned Iranian physicians and HIV/AIDS leaders detained in June 2008 by Iranian […]

Please join Physicians for Human Rights in welcoming brothers Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei to Washington, DC for one of their first joint public appearances since their release from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. November 9, 2011, 2:30-4:00 p.m.National Press ClubWashington, DC The doctors are renowned Iranian physicians and HIV/AIDS leaders detained in June 2008 […]

Physicians for Human Rights recently announced the arrival of prominent Iranian AIDS doctors Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei in the US following 3 years in prison in Tehran. During their imprisonment, PHR spearheaded a 3-year international campaign which called for their release and engaged hundreds of leading AIDS experts, virologists and health organizations. In late […]

Two weeks ago, Iran executed three men because they were gay.Iranian authorities rarely admit executing prisoners on the basis of sexuality– typically they are killed on trumped-up charges like kidnapping or burglary –but here the men were explicitly charged with the crime of intercourse betweenmen. The government’s willingness to openly charge then execute men for […]

We are so happy to report that Dr. Arash Alaei has been released from Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. Arash's brother, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, says: “I want to thank everybody around the world who campaigned for the release of my brother and me. They did a wonderful job during the past three years, and without […]

Nature.com today posts an interview by Priya Shetty with Dr. Kamiar Alaei, given during the recent International AIDS Society meetings in Rome. Excerpt: Q) Did you ever think you would be in prison one day yourself?A) Never. We never expected to be arrested. The worst scenario we imagined if the new government was not happy […]

PHRand its supporters are appealing for the immediate release of theinternationally renowned HIV/AIDS doctor Dr. Arash Alaei from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. Drs.Arash and Kamiar Alaei were wrongfully convicted in January 2009 on charges ofcommunicating with the enemy government. Lastyear, Dr. Kamiar Alaei was released and yesterday he spoke at the annualInternational AIDS Society […]

Last night, I had the privilege of attending the Global Health Council’s Annual Awards Banquet. During the banquet, Drs. Kamiar and ArashAlaei received the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights fortheir significant achievements in fighting HIV/AIDS in the face of seriousopposition. The awards banquet was aptly described by emcee Ray Suarez of […]

Yesterday was World AIDS Day, a veritable mixed-bag of acknowledgments and modest accolades contrasted with sobering memorials and hard facts. Observance of this day each year marks a way to acknowledge the advances that HIV/AIDS policy activists and health professionals have made around the world as well as to remember the millions who have died […]

Kamiar and Arash have no more legal appeals left. Based on current understanding of political prisoners in Iran, inmates are eligible for release on special pardon occasions (such as religious or state holidays), provided they serve one-third of their respective sentences. On the eve of such major holidays, Iranian authorities make promises about imminent releases, […]

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 […]

Physicians for Human Rights joins numerous international NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders, in supporting United4Iran’s Global Day of Action on June 12, 2010. June 12?events will be occurring in over 70 cities around the world. Go to?12June.org for more information.June 12?marks the one year anniversary of Iran’s disputed election, […]

This week marks Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, in Iran. On this Nowruz, Amnesty International wants to remember several courageous prisoners of conscience in Iran— including Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei—with Nowruz greetings. PHR is pleased to support Amnesty’s call to action, which will send a message of hope and solidarity to Kamiar and […]

One year ago, Dr. Kamiar Alaei and his brother Dr. Arash Alaei were sentenced to prison in Iran. Iranian officials accused the brothers of using trips to AIDS conferences in the US and around the world to “foment a velvet revolution.” They were convicted on charges of communicating with an enemy government — the US […]

Physicians for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran sent a letter to Iranian authorities on November 25 to ask for a full, transparent and independent investigation into the suspicious death of Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani, a physician who had examined prisoners wounded and killed during the 2009 Iranian election […]

I just returned from an inspiring?ANAC conference (Association of Nurses in AIDS Care). It is always fun, fabulous and totally energizing to be around ANAC members, who are deeply committed to stopping AIDS, supporting people living with AIDS and building an amazing community of caregivers, educators and advocates.Former PHR Health Action AIDS Campaign Director Pat […]