Iranian Alaei brothers receive award from Sharon Stone (Video)
C-Span: In a ceremony held at the opening session of the 19th International Aids Conference in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Actress Sharon Stone presented the inaugural Elizabeth Taylor Award (in Recognition of Efforts to Advocate for Human Rights in the Field of HIV) to brothers Dr. Kamiar Alaei and Dr. Arash Alaei, who pioneered the treatment of HIV and AIDS in Iran, where their work once made them political prisoners.
The brothers Alaei, both physicians, have long worked on efforts to prevent the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and auto-immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Iran. Beginning in 1986, they tried to integrate prevention and care of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as drug-related harm reduction, into Iran's national healthcare system. Kamiar, 38, is a former executive director of Iran's Pars Institute, which is devoted to prevention, care, and support for carriers of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Arash, 43, is a former director of the International Education and Research Cooperation of the Iranian National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Under his guidance, Iran instituted a nationwide needle-exchange program, distribution of free condoms in healthcare clinics across the country, and the establishment of methadone treatment centers in every province.
Arash Alaei was arrested in Tehran on June 28, 2008, and Kamiar on the following day. Originally charged with "communicating with an enemy government," they were later claimed to be part of a group linked to the United States whose aim was to overthrow the government. Arash and Kamiar were eventually "convicted" and sentenced to six and three years of imprisonment, respectively. Kamiar served over two and a half years of his sentence and was released in December 2010, while his brother was released on August 29 last year.
The brothers, who are physicians, now live in Albany, New York. They are developing HIV and AIDS treatment programs for South America and the Middle East with funding from UAlbany and the World Health Organization. "This is a very important award for people working on AIDS treatment and the biggest recognition so far for work done in the Middle East," Arash Alaei said last week.
The 19th International Aids Conference in Washington, D.C., a five-day event that started on July 22, draws world leaders and an expected attendance of 25,000, and a long list of notable speakers, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, Bill Gates, Elton John and Whoopi Goldberg.
