freedetainees.org

Kamiar and Arash Suggestions for Actions

Arash and Kamiar Alaei, two physician brothers who have been pionneers of HIV/AIDS care and harm reduction in Iran, were arrested on June 21 and 22, respectively. It was announced this week that they are being charged with “plotting a velvet revolution.” Kamiar is a former student at Harvard School of Public Health and a current doctoral student at the State University of New York. http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=174595 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/105/2008/en http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/statement-2008-07-18.htm I was fortunate to be Kamiar’s next door neighbor in student housing at the Harvard School of Public Health and we became friends. He about 5,8, trim, dark-haired, with a neat goatee and is a bright, articulate, talented, and deeply compassionate person.

In a quick conversation with him, his passion for his work with drug users and people with HIV/AIDS in Iran are immediately evident. I was struck in our first dinner together that he expressed concern for the lack of services for HIV+ drug users in American prisons. (Thanks to his work, HIV+ drug users in Iranian prisons have much better access.) At one point, when the US was threatening to bomb Iran, Kamiar sent all of us a powerpoint titled “beautiful Iran” with pictures of the countryside, the people, Kamiar’s family, Tehran. I immediately wrote letters to my U.S. Senators in opposition to such a bombing. Kamiar deeply loved his country and never spoke ill of its government. The charges are simply ridiculous. I have also had the pleasure of meeting Arash on several occasions. It causes me great greif to think of them in prison, alone and frightenend. They have spoken with family, but their lawyers do not have access to them. I hope that you can take some time to do a few things this week to help them: 1. Sign the Physicians for Human Rights petition: www.iranfreethedocs.org 2. Media, media, media: If you have media contacts, use them. If you work for an AIDS Group, NGO, university, or scientific organization, and Medical Organizations please work to have a press release calling for their release. Press releases should emphasize that the brothers are not involved with politics, but are doctors, scientists, and humanitarians. 3. Write letters/Contact the Iranian Government. For this phase, the Iranian experts suggested these 4 as the best contacts. Please be respectful and focus on the fact that Kamiar and Arash are humanitarians and academics and are not political. His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: info@leader.ir 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 Minister of Health and Medical Education His Excellency Dr Kamran Lankarani Tehran 11344, Islamic Republic of Iran Location: 14th floor, MOHME building, Simaye Iran Street, Phase 5, Shahrake Qods, Teheran Email: Lankarani@mohme.gov.ir Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations His Excellency Mohammad Khazee 622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10017 If you have other Iranian gov contacts, please use them. 4. If you have contacts with governments friendly to Iran, such as Russia, China, India, Tajikistan, etc, work through these to inquire. 5. There is a special letter for well-known academics, researchers, and doctors. If you would like to see and sign on to this letter, please e-mail me ctrout@bu.edu. 6. Join/invite people to the facebook site to keep informed about future ways to help Kamiar and Arash. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20650248385 7. Forward this letter widely. Thanks. Here is more information about the Alaei’s work and detention: http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/press.html?record=200 http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=174595 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/105/2008/en http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-36428369@7-50,0.html http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/07/21/iran19409.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7519233.stm http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=huLWJeMRKpH&b=3818507&ct=5674953 http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=705513&Category=REGION&LinkFrom=RSS http://www.iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/kamiar-and-arash-alaei http://persianthoughts.wordpress.com/ http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=14918 http://www.netnewspublisher.com/iranian-government-detains-prominent-aids-doctors/ http://www.apria.com/resources/1,2725,494-784125,00.html http://www.irandokht.com/news/readnews.php?newsID=41330 http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/statement-2008-07-18.htm