Published 13 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b109
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b109

News

Health workers protest at unfair trial in Iran of HIV doctors

Peter Moszynski

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The trial of two Iranian doctors on secret charges has caused a storm of protest from medical practitioners worldwide.

Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, two brothers known internationally for their groundbreaking work as HIV and AIDS physicians, had been held without charge for more than six months before their appearance at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court at the end of December. They were summarily convicted of "communicating with an enemy government" and other as yet undisclosed charges and were still awaiting the verdict as the BMJ went to press.

The advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights says that the two were "denied fundamental requirements of due process," because the prosecutor refused to disclose all the charges against them and denied their right to confront the charges and defend themselves. It says that the trial "also sends an ominous signal regarding the Iranian government’s crackdown on international scientific exchange."

The two doctors have . . . [Full text of this article]


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