British-Iranian volleyball woman gets one year in jail

A Tehran court has jailed for one year a British-Iranian woman who was arrested after trying to attend a volleyball match, in a decision condemned Nov. 2 as an outrage.
      
The case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, has drawn considerable attention because of her dual nationality and lengthy time in prison before trial. Britain said it was concerned after hearing reports of her jail sentence.
      
Ghavami was detained on June 20 at Azadi ("Freedom" in Farsi) Stadium where Iran's national volleyball team was to play Italy, after female fans and even women journalists were told they would not be allowed to watch, leading to a brief demonstration.
      
Women are also banned from football matches in Iran, with officials saying this is to protect them from lewd behaviour among male fans.
      
Ghavami was originally released after a few hours but was re-arrested days later at a police station she had visited to reclaim items confiscated from her near the stadium.
      
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 in jail," 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."       ...