- Iran: Eight Prisoners Hanged on Drug Charges
- Daughter of late Iranian president jailed for ‘spreading lies’ - IRAN: Annual report on the death penalty 2016 - Taheri Facing the Death Penalty Again - Dedicated team seeking return of missing agent in Iran - Iran Arrests 2, Seizes Bibles During Catholic Crackdown
- Trump to welcome Netanyahu as Palestinians fear U.S. shift
- Details of Iran nuclear deal still secret as US-Tehran relations unravel - Will Trump's Next Iran Sanctions Target China's Banks? - Don’t ‘tear up’ the Iran deal. Let it fail on its own. - Iran Has Changed, But For The Worse - Iran nuclear deal ‘on life support,’ Priebus says
- Female Activist Criticizes Rouhani’s Failure to Protect Citizens
- Iran’s 1st female bodybuilder tells her story - Iranian lady becomes a Dollar Millionaire on Valentine’s Day - Two women arrested after being filmed riding motorbike in Iran - 43,000 Cases of Child Marriage in Iran - Woman Investigating Clinton Foundation Child Trafficking KILLED!
- Senior Senators, ex-US officials urge firm policy on Iran
- In backing Syria's Assad, Russia looks to outdo Iran - Six out of 10 People in France ‘Don’t Feel Safe Anywhere’ - The liberal narrative is in denial about Iran - Netanyahu urges Putin to block Iranian power corridor - Iran Poses ‘Greatest Long Term Threat’ To Mid-East Security |
Monday 03 November 2014Woman gets 1 year in Iranian jail for attending volleyball gameDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian-British woman detained while trying to attend a men’s volleyball game in Iran has been found guilty of spreading propaganda against the ruling system and sentenced to a year in prison, her lawyer said Sunday. Britain immediately raised concerns about Ghoncheh Ghavami’s trial. The case highlighted the limits to free expression inside Iran and efforts by authorities to enforce strict interpretations of Islamic norms despite a policy of greater openness being pursued by moderate President Hassan Rouhani. The 25-year-old woman’s brother, Iman Ghavami, said the family had been hoping she would be set free based on time already served since her June arrest. They are still trying to get official details of the verdict, he said. “We’re disappointed and kind of shocked. We really hoped she’d be released,” he told the Associated Press. Ghavami’s lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, said in an interview that a court found her guilty of “propagating against the ruling system.” Tabatabaei said he was shown the text of the verdict but is still waiting to receive it officially. “I was told at the court today that my client’s case has been referred back to the prosecutor because Ghavami is facing new charges. So, the verdict was not given to me,” he said. Tabatabaei didn’t elaborate what the new charges are or why fresh charges have been raised against his client now. Ghavami was detained in June at Tehran’s Freedom Stadium after trying to attend a men’s volleyball match between Iran and Italy. She is a graduate of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and had been volunteering to help street kids in Iran for a few months, her brother said. Women are banned from attending male-only matches in Iran. Ghavami tried to enter the stadium with other women to protest the ban, according to Amnesty International. Female photographers inside the complex were also ordered to leave, though none was arrested. Ghavami was held along with the other protesters for a few hours before being released. She was detained again a few days later and stood trial last month. Her brother said she had no access to her lawyer until it came time for her court hearing. “This whole case has been full of abnormalities,” Iman Ghavami said. Ghavami has been held in solitary confinement for much of her time at Tehran’s Evin prison, according to Amnesty. She went on a hunger strike at one point last month to protest her detention. The rights group sharply criticized Sunday’s verdict and called Ghavami a prisoner of conscience. “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,” Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said. Iman Ghavami said he believes authorities singled out his sister from the other female protesters because she holds both British and Iranian citizenship. Iranian authorities do not recognize dual nationalities for its citizens and treats them as Iranians under law. The British Foreign Office expressed doubts about the sentence Sunday. Modal Trigger Photo: AP Iran’s moderate President Rouhani has faced resistance from hard-liners who feel he is too soft on those who challenge strict interpretations of Islam. In one case earlier this year, six young Iranian men and women who shot a video of themselves dancing together and unveiled to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” were arrested along with the film’s director for allegedly breaching Islamic norms. They received suspended sentences of jail terms and lashes in September. Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, has criticized reports linking Ghavami’s arrest to volleyball, saying last month: “Her case has nothing to do with sports.” New York Post |