Iranian Volleyball Attendee Gets One Year in Prison

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CYRIL JULIEN Iran's volleyball national team players participate in a training session at Azadi sports hall in Tehran on July 8, 2014, preparing the team to play at World League Finals 1st group in Italy on July 16. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

(ATR) A British-Iranian woman who attempted to enter a volleyball match in Iran has been sentenced to a year in prison.

Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, is a law graduate from London. In June, she was detained as she attempted to enter a Tehran stadium when the Iranian men’s volleyball team was facing Italy.

"According to the verdict, she was sentenced to one year," her lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie told the Iranian media.

The ruling was handed down in closed-door fashion with no reason given for the conviction.

Women, even those who are journalists, were banned from attending the match. The police chief said it was "not yet in the public interest" for men and women to attend the same event.

Women are also banned from attending football matches in Iran. Officials say this is to protect them from lewd behavior by male fans.

Written by Nick Devlin

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