Statement of support for AIDS doctors detained by Iranian authorities

For immediate release: Thursday, January 15, 2009

Boston, MA — Julio Frenk, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, today expressed “the continuing concern and distress of the public health community regarding the detention by Iranian authorities of Dr. Kamiar Alaei, a 2007 Masters of Science graduate of our School, and of his brother, Dr. Arash Alaei. The brothers are Iranian physicians working on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and who, in the course of their studies and work, have interacted with the international public health community.”

“The free flow of scientific information and of researchers for collaboration and consultation is essential to progress in the welfare of societies. As Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, I add my voice and that of members of our community in support of the Alaei physicians. We ask for full respect to their human rights so that they may continue their important work and so that all Iranian scientists and their international colleagues may feel secure about working together to solve the shared public health challenges of the world.”