• Issues
• Torture
• Mass Atrocities
• Rape in War
• Persecution of Health Workers
  • The Principle of Medical Neutrality
  • Attacks on Doctors in Bahrain
  • Jailed Doctors in Iran

Persecution of Health Workers

Physicians and other health professionals all over the world face persecution resulting from adhering to their duty to provide nondiscriminatory treatment of the injured and sick. PHR documents the deliberate targeting of health care systems and personnel, and advocates accountability for violators.

The Principle of Medical Neutrality

Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are trained to treat those in need – regardless of politics, race, or religion. Attacks on health professionals violate the principle of medical neutrality and are grave breaches of international law.

Bahrain: Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients

PHR's emergency report documented and decried systematic human rights abuses in Bahrain during and after unrest in February and March 2011. For the first time, forensic evidence documented government attacks on physicians, medical staff, patients, and unarmed civilians with the use of bird shot, physical beatings, rubber bullets, tear gas, and unidentified chemical agents.

Jailed Doctors in Iran

Doctor Arash Alaei and Doctor Kamiar Alaei, two well-known Iranian brothers working in the field of HIV/AIDS, were detained without charge in June 2008 by Iranian authorities. The government used the doctors’ travel to international AIDS conferences as a basis for subsequently charging and convicting the doctors of conspiring with an enemy government — a dangerous conflation of public health diplomacy with treason. PHR worked tirelessly from the moment of the doctors' detention, leading the global movement resulting in their release (Dr. Kamiar in late 2010, Dr. Arash in summer 2011), working to persuade the government of Iran that treating AIDS is not a crime. 

Syria: Serious Violations of Medical Neutrality

Since mid-March, 2011, Syrian government forces have sought to crush citizen uprisings. More than 1,700 people have been killed and at least 10,000 are reported to be in custody or missing. In addition to the widely reported atrocities committed by the government, PHR has discovered reports of serious violations of medical neutrality in Syria. PHR is calling on the Government of Syria to cease its campaign of targeting medical facilities and health workers and their patients, and to safeguard doctors’ obligation to provide neutral and ethical care for civilians.

• News
• Blog
• Research

Suppressing the narrative in Bahrain (February 13, 2012)

A year after the uprising in Bahrain began, the government has continued to deny entrance to journalists and human rights activists, including Richard Sollom of PHR.

Congressmen Confront Bahrain Over Recent NGO Visa Restrictions (February 3, 2012)

With the first anniversary of the popular uprising, and subsequent suppression, in Bahrain fast approaching, a number of human rights organizations are asking a dreaded question: What happens if there's another crackdown, and not enough international organizations are there to witness it?

US Should Not Reward Bahrain with Military Equipment (January 30, 2012)

Over the weekend, the US administration chose to move forward with the sale of military equipment to Bahrain, despite the fact that tear gas assaults on minority Shi’a neighborhoods recently took the life of a 6-day-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. Such a sale, even if it does not include weapons, sends the wrong message to the people of Bahrain who are protesting government oppression.

Bahrain detainee dies in custody, opposition sees torture (January 26, 2012)

A 19-year old Bahraini protester has died in the hospital while in custody. According to Bahraini police, he died as a result of chronic disease, but opposition groups argue that the detainee was injured in a protest, then detained and tortured. In light of the continued abuses of the Bahraini government, PHR is calling for the US government to hold fast to its decision to delay sales of military equipment to Bahrain.

More »

Bahraini Government’s Use of Tear Gas Claims Several Lives (January 27, 2012)

Over the last month, the Bahraini police have been using tear gas almost every night against protesters in residential areas. Specifically, the police have been targeting the Shi’a neighborhoods of Iker, Sitra, Nuwadrat, and Ma’ameer. While there are international guidelines for the proper use of tear gas, victims of such attacks describe the police using tear gas inappropriately – including firing into homes and other closed spaces. Such inappropriate use can have disastrous consequences. Since the start of the unrest in February 2011, at least 13 civilians have died from exposure to the tear gas, according to Bahraini civil society groups. They note that those who die from tear gas inhalation are usually people who are already vulnerable due to old age or disease, which make the gas’s effects more deadly.

Bogus Charges Against Bahraini Human Rights Activist Must Be Dropped (December 22, 2011)

Last week, Bahraini authorities wrongfully detained human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja, while she engaged in nonviolent, peaceful protest against Bahraini government policies last week. As this video shows, Zainab was dragged away by law enforcement officers who, according to Amnesty International allegedly beat her outside the view of cameras before taking her into custody against her will.

Fatou Bensouda to take the helm as ICC’s new prosecutor (December 15, 2011)

Earlier this week, Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda was chosen to be the new Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. She will be the second person, and the first African, to hold this position. Bensouda was the likely choice for the position given her professional qualifications, including serving as Deputy Prosecutor to Luis Moreno-Ocampo during his nine-year tenure as Chief Prosecutor of the Court. Given the extent of the ICC’s work in Africa – all seven of the countries with cases before the court are African – the choice of an African prosecutor seems especially appropriate.

Join PHR as Released Iranian AIDS Doctors Share their Story (November 2, 2011)

Doctors Kamiar and Arash Alaei will speak together on November 9 at the National Press Club in Washington DC to talk about their imprisonment, their AIDS work, and their joy at being reunited. Join us! To RSVP: email events@phrusa.org

More »

PHR Applauds Members of Congress Who Called For Open Access for NGOs to Bahrain (February 2012)

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) applauds members of Congress who wrote to the King of Bahrain, His Majesty Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, to request open access for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). PHR was recently denied entry to Bahrain to continue its human rights investigation despite previous assurances from the Government of Bahrain.

Syria: Attacks on Doctors, Patients, and Hospitals (December 2011)

The Syrian government has responded to popular protests with months of sustained and extreme violence and intimidation, and an all-out assault on the country’s medical system. PHR has documented attacks on Syria’s medical profession – violations that are but one aspect of the myriad abuses the Syrian people have endured over the past several months.

New Medical Neutrality Exemption to “Material Support” Bar to Asylum is Applauded (November 2011)

PHR commends Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s decision to create an exemption to the “material support” bar for health professionals who have provided medical assistance to wounded combatants. The decision is a major victory for health professionals who were forced to provide health care to alleged terrorists during armed conflict. Previously, medical professionals forced to provide care to members of terrorist organizations, some under the threat of torture or death, were denied asylum in the US.

Witness to War Crimes: Evidence from Misrata, Libya (August 2011)

When Libyans first took to the streets to protest Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s autocratic rule in February 2011, Qaddafi's response was quick and brutal: attack protesters and target civilians in a deliberate campaign to quash dissent across the country. This report documents some of the conflict's most severe human rights violations that must be addressed as a new civilian government emerges.

More »

Featured Expert

Nizam Peerwani, MD

A Chief Medical Examiner in Texas since 1979, Dr. Peerwani was one of two investigators for PHR of attacks on health professionals and their patients in Bahrain in 2011. Read More »