Let's not invade Iran. But seriously, Iran, you're not helping. Let these doctors go.

On June 22 of this year, Dr. Arash Alaei was arrested by Iranian police, and the following day they took his brother, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, and seized documents from the brothers. Arash and Kamiar are very active in the harm reduction movement in Iran and internationally, working for the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS. They are believed to be held in Evin Prison in Tehran, reportedly for plotting to overthrow the government. Amnesty International believes their arrest to be politically motivated, and has called for urgent action on their behalf.

Since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, he has withdrawn support for the progressive, highly respected needle exchange projects promoted by Arash and Kamair, initiatives hailed by the UN as "courageous" and "visionary."

Six weeks after the brothers' detainment, Tehran officials released a statement about them:

"They held conferences on such topics as AIDS, which drew the attention of domestic and foreign organizations and NGOs," and that "they would organize foreign trips for people and train them. They were aware of what they were doing, and their training was of the nature of a velvet revolution."

It's important to keep perspective, and realize that as we point fingers at Iran for repressing its people, the same behavior (and worse) happens in the United States. Consistency is important. And as much as I call out the U.S. as a police state responsible for thousands of civilian deaths each year (at home and abroad), we've got to also stand up for our brothers and sisters across the world facing other kinds of state repression. Physicians for Human Rights is circulating a petition at IranFreetheDocs.org that calls on the Iranian government to release the Drs. Alaei. Sign it now! And if you're on Facebook, join the group founded by one of Kamiar's colleagues at Harvard to support the brothers.

Labels: human rights, Iran, state repression