Watchdog

A vigil was held in New York this week for two doctors who have been detained without charge since late June in the notorious Section 209 of Tehran's Evin prison.

Dr. Kamiar Alaei and his brother, Dr. Arash Alaei, are internationally respected HIV/AIDS researchers and educators.

The vigil, held in front of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York, was organized by Physicians For Human Rights (PHR) and a coalition of health and human rights groups. It was timed to coincide with the appearance of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad at the UN General Assembly.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Susannah Sirkin, deputy director of PHR, said those participating in the vigil are demanding that Iran respect the fundamental human rights of the Alaei brothers and release them.

"What is understood so far about the possible reason for their arrest seems to be merely because they have had a wide set of international contacts in their HIV/AIDS work, their medical work, their public health work," Sirkin said, "and that, according to one report from the prosecutor in Tehran, they are being accused of fomenting a 'velvet revolution' [in Iran]. As far as we can understand, that charge is just based on their having an interest in medical and public health exchanges on the challenge of HIV/AIDS."

Sirkin said the PHR delivered to the Iranian Mission a petition for the brothers' release that was signed by more than 3,000 health professionals, including top international HIV/AIDS doctors, from 85 countries.

(by Hannah Kaviani of RFE/RL's Radio Farda)

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission says incidents of torture have decreased in Afghan detention centers, but that other issues involving the country's prisons remain of deep concern.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, Farid Hamidi, a member of the commission, said its findings suggest that, compared to the last few years, “torture in Afghanistan has, to some degree, decreased, but unfortunately, it remains one of the main human rights concerns -- one of the concerns that can violate justice and step over the basic rights of the Afghan people.”

But he said problems such as prisoners' poor living conditions, negligence in processing prisoners’ cases, and unlawful arrests remain persistent and must be addressed.

On September 23, parliament's Judiciary Committee summoned Afghanistan’s attorney general and the head of the country's national security agency, the National Security Directorate, to review prison conditions and to share with them numerous complaints lodged by prisoners about mistreatment by National Security personnel.

Many released detainees have complained of having been tortured. National Security officials deny such allegations.

Meanwhile, deputy Malalai Shinwari, who recently visited Pul-e Charkhi prison in Kabul along with a parliamentary delegation, said, “Numerous shortcomings exist in prisons. Relations between prison personnel and prisoners are very bad.”

She emphasized that such conditions were visible in both the men’s and women’s wards.

Interpol recently made a commitment to assist in improving conditions in Afghanistan's prisons.

(by Helena Malikyar of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)