Product Code Database
Ghoncheh Ghavami (born 1989), also spelled as Goncheh Ghavami (), is a British-Iranian law graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London who was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison for protesting for equal access to sporting events in Iran.
On 20 June 2014 she was arrested for the first time after she attempted to attend a men-only volleyball match in Azadi Indoor Stadium of Tehran. Women have been prohibited from attending male-only football matches in Iran since 1979, and this restriction was extended to volleyball matches in 2012. Although she was released on the same day, she was re-arrested days later when she returned to collect her belongings; she was then taken to Evin Prison. Her arrest raised international protests, but Iranian officials denied the link between her arrest and the volleyball match. She was charged with "propaganda against the Iran", according to Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejeie, the second-ranking member of Iran's judiciary.
Ghavami was released on bail on 23 November 2014. She was sentenced to a one-year jail term and a two-year travel ban.
Ghavami was arrested at the security gate to the stadium and released on bail. When she returned a week later to collect her belongings, she was re-arrested and taken to Evin Prison where she was held in solitary confinement. She shared a cell for a brief while with Atena Farghadani, an Iranian artist and political activist. She began a hunger strike on 1 October 2014 after being held in solitary detention for 100 days.
Iran's judiciary has denied that the charges against Ghavami are related to her stadium visit, stating she was charged with "propaganda against the regime".
Ghavami was released on bail in November 2014. The New York Times reported Ghavami's bail as being "around $30,000" and reported that the Iranian authorities would not allow her to return to the UK due to her two-year travel ban.
In an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani, 300 Iranian human and civil rights activists highlighted the conditions Ghavami was being held under.
The foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, Philip Hammond, raised her case with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs, at talks at the United Nations in New York City. However, Iran does not recognise her dual nationality as a British citizen.
|
|
