Tehran: A Tehran court has jailed for one year a British-Iranian woman arrested after trying to attend a volleyball match, in a decision condemned on Sunday as an “outrage”.
The case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, has drawn considerable political attention because of her dual nationality and lengthy detention before trial.
She was detained on June 20 at Azadi (“Freedom” in Farsi) Stadium where Iran’s national volleyball team was to play Italy, and although she was released within a few hours she was re-arrested days later.
Having been in custody since – at least 41 days of which was spent in solitary confinement, according to her family – Ghavami went on trial behind closed doors last month. “According to the verdict she was sentenced to one year,” her lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie was quoted in Iranian media as saying on Sunday.
No reason was given for the conviction though Ghavami had been accused of spreading propaganda against the regime, a broad charge often used by Iran’s judiciary.
Asked if the sentence could be reduced, Tabatabaie, who has not been allowed to visit his client, said: “Considering that Ghoncheh Ghavami has no criminal record, the court can alleviate the verdict. Amnesty International dubbed the court judgement “appalling”. “It’s an outrage that a young woman is being locked up simply for peacefully having her say about how women are discriminated against in Iran,” said Kate Allen, the rights group’s director for Britain. “Ghoncheh is a prisoner of conscience and the Iranian authorities should quash the sentence and release her immediately and unconditionally.” Ghavami’s arrest came after female fans and even women journalists were told they would not be allowed to attend the volleyball match.
Ghavami has spent 126 days in the capital’s notorious Evin Prison. Last month she went on a hunger strike for a fortnight in protest at the jail’s conditions and her detention. (AFP)