Persian Music for a Cause will feature Iranian musicians including Siamak Shajarian on vocals, Pezham Akhavass on percussion, composer and santur player Bahram Osqueezadeh and conductor Katherine Saxon. The event will feature a new composition by Osqueezadeh based on an old song “Came Fall,” which will be performed by the UC Santa Barbara New Century Voices choir and Osqueezadeh himself. The Middle East Ensemble will perform a variety of Persian pieces directed by Scott Marcus.
The benefit concert of Persian music will use proceeds to help Iranian-American cancer patient Farnaz Rahjoo, who is in need of a bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow registry drive will be held before, during and after the event and staff will be available to answer any questions.
Rahjoo, a young mother of two, will be present to answer any questions. Rahjoo, who is in her early thirties, told PACI from her hospital bed, “I would be grateful … for someone to save [my] life.”
To learn more about Rahjoo, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8988ijTf0V4.
The event will be held January 29 at 7:30 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara’s Lotte Lehmann concert hall. Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $7 for student admission. For more information call: (805) 626-0014.
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Iranian-Dutch lady gets death
Iran sentenced an Iranian-
Dutch woman to death Sun-
day for the possession and smuggling of drugs. The sentence has arpoused concerns in the Dutch government.
Zahra Bahrami was arrested during the Ashura anti-government protests in December 2009. With her arrest, the court issued an order for the “confiscation of her possessions, car and house.”
Allegedly, 400g of cocaine and 400g of opium were found in her home. Carrying over 30g of heroine and/or more than 20kg of opium warrants a death sentence. Thus, her lawyer. Jinoose Sharif Razi. told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, “Since the amount of drugs discovered at her home is over a certain limit, she has been issued the death penalty.”
Bahrami, who was born in Iran but immigrated to the Netherlands, is also on trial for a second charge of “enmity against God,” which was the reason for her arrest. Her lawyer said that even if acquitted of those charges, which seems unlikely, she can still be executed for the drug charges.
Bahrami’s daughter, Banafsheh Najebpour, first made the sentencing public in a phone interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, a Dutch radio station. Since then, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal has called on Iran to provide more details on Bahrami’s case. He expressed grave concern about her sentence, particularly since Bahrami has claimed that the charges against her are fabricated.
Iran has rejected Dutch diplomats’ past efforts to get involved with Bahrami’s case as Iran does not recognize dual citizenship.