#FreeGhoncheh Ghavami

A British woman locked in a notorious Iranian jail for trying to watch a men’s volleyball match has been charged with ‘propaganda against the regime’ – three months after being taken prisoner. Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was arrested and taken to Tehran’s notorious Evin jail a few days after attempting to watch a volleyball match between Iran and Italy on June 20.
She was part of a group of women protesting Iranian stricture which bans females from attending men’s sporting events.
According to her family, Miss Ghavami has spent 41 days in solitary confinement and been subjected to threats of being moved to a more dangerous prison.
An Amnesty International spokesman said: ‘She is a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for taking part in a peaceful protest against the ban on women attending Volleyball World League matches in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.’
At first Ms Ghavami, who previously studied law in London, was arrested then released, but when she went back to fetch her belongings, she was re-arrested and jailed.
Several others involved in the demonstration were also detained.
The British-Iranian citizen, 25, was among 50 women arrested that June day for trying to watch the match from inside the stadium, a luxury only afforded to men in Iran.
Iman Ghavami has also started a petition on change.org for his sister’s release, appealing to the public to “help end this nightmare for my family.” The petition has already gotten almost 40,000 signatures.
“I just want people to speak up about this tragedy,” he said. “Hopefully, I can get support and she can be released.”

By TED THORNHILL FOR MAILONLINE