Two renowned Iranian AIDS physicians were convicted for allegedly taking part in a U.S.-backed plot to topple Iran's Islamic system, mystifying human rights activists who said the two were apolitical and doing innovative work on stemming the spread of the HIV virus.
Rights groups condemned the conviction and sentencing of the scientists, brothers Arash and Kamyar Alaei. It was the latest instance of the hard-line government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad targeting Iranians with Western connections and depicting them as tools for an American campaign to overthrow the Islamic republic.
Iran's state news agency said Monday that the Alaei brothers, and two others convicted in the same case, were leading a CIA-funded effort to recruit other scientists, doctors and professions to foment a "soft overthrow" or velvet revolution in Iran.
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While several of those four were involved in democracy-building activities — perhaps explaining why they attracted the attention of Iranian authorities — the Alaei brothers have been strictly apolitical, focusing on AIDS prevention, said Sarah Kolloch, of the Massachusetts-based Physicians for Human Rights.
The Alaeis have run a clinic in Tehran and run HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in Iran, focusing particularly on at-risk sectors like prostitutes and drug users. They have also held training courses for Afghan and Tajik medical workers.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gsHEfXYyEchuq_vXs0IBgEbdUldwD95QBR800Maybe in addition to not having a gay problem they don't have an AIDS problem.
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