International Artists and Religious Leaders Come Together to Call for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Iran

International Artists and Religious Leaders Come Together to Call for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Iran

Rainn Wilson to host concert event - Sponsored by the USC Office of Religious Life, the Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics, and the Los Angeles Baha'i Center - At the USC Bovard Auditorium

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ --
WHO: Host: Actor and comedian Rainn Wilson (of NBC's The Office)

Presenters: Actors Eva LaRue (CSI Miami), Anthony Azizi
(24, Lost)

Performers: GRAMMY-nominated Jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton,
Cuban jazz pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, Iranian Armenian
singer/songwriter Andy Madadian, recording artist Terry Dexter,
three-time GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY-winning artist/producer KC
Porter and JB Eckl, Iranian artist AVA, vocalist Andy Vargas
(of Santana), and singer Kai Kalama (American Idol finalist).

Speakers: Dr. Dwight Bashir, U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Professor Emeritus Yale
University, Dr. Reza Aslan, Professor at the University of
California, Riverside and contributing editor for The
Daily Beast.

WHAT: "Belief Behind Bars" - A Call for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom in Iran. An evening of music and awareness of human
rights and religious freedom featuring guest speakers and an
array of international musical guests and a coalition of
religious leaders from Southern California to express strong
support for 7 Iranian Baha'is imprisoned on trumped-up charges
for more than a year. Their upcoming trial is now scheduled to
take place on October 18th and holds the possibility of a death
sentence for each of them on charges of spying for the state
of Israel. This is a free admission event.

Seven leaders of the Baha'i Faith in Iran have been imprisoned
in Iran's notorious Evin prison for over a year without access
to their attorney, Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. Baha'is
constitute the largest non-Muslim minority in Iran and suffer
discrimination from the Islamic government. Baha'is cannot
hold government jobs or receive government pensions and
Baha'i young people cannot attend institutions of higher
learning.

The seven Baha'i prisoners are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr.
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs.
Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.
All but one in the group were arrested on May 14, 2008, at
their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on March 5,
2008 while in Mashhad. They constitute a national committee
of Baha'i leadership in Iran.

Some 25 years ago members of Iran's national-level Baha'i
leadership were rounded up in a similar manner and executed by
the Iranian government. U.S. Senate Resolution 71 (SR71) is
currently in committee and "(1) condemns the Government of Iran
for its state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority in
Iran and its continued violation of the International Covenants
on Human Rights; and (2) calls on the Government of Iran to
immediately release the seven leaders and all other prisoners
held solely on account of their religion."

WHERE: Bovard Auditorium
University of Southern California
3551 Trousdale Pkwy
Los Angeles, CA 90089

WHEN: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
6:30 p.m. Media Check-in
7:30 p.m. Presentation and concert

Please alert us in advance to your likely or probable attendance.

Source: Belief Behind Bars

CONTACT: Randy Dobbs of Los Angeles Baha'i Center, +1-818-378-8272,
randy@labc.org; or Jennifer Snook of WorldBeat Productions, +1-818-225-0082,
jennyfelimi@gmail.com; or Cynthia Elmastian, +1-818-324-2777,
cynthiaelm@gmail.com, all for Belief Behind Bars

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