Verdict for Ghoncheh Ghavami; One Year in Prison and Two Years of Travel Ban

Ghoncheh Ghavami, an Iranian-British woman who was arrested after attempting to enter a volleyball stadium in Tehran, has been sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban from Iran. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Ghavami's former lawyer, stated on December 1 that she was convicted of propaganda against the regime, and this verdict has been issued and officially communicated. Prior to the announcement of the verdict, there were reports regarding its issuance; Alizadeh Tabatabai had mentioned in November that the judge had shown the verdict but it had not yet been officially communicated. He also confirmed that he had resigned from representing Ghavami at her mother's request. At the end of November, Ghavami's mother stated that her daughter's lawyer had resigned. At that time, it was reported that the sentence was one year in prison. The former lawyer of the 25-year-old Iranian-British woman told ILNA that 'recently, new charges including espionage and conspiracy to act against national security had been raised in Ghavami's case, which, following our follow-ups, a decision to dismiss the prosecution for these charges was issued.' The Tehran Prosecutor's Office had previously raised allegations regarding Ghavami's connections with 'the opposition of the Islamic Republic,' 'media outside Iran,' or 'participating in anti-regime protests.' Ghavami intended to attend the World Volleyball Championships at Azadi Stadium on June 30 but was arrested due to protesting the ban on women's entry to the stadium and was released a few hours later. A few days later, when she attempted to retrieve her personal belongings, she was arrested again. While the Iranian judiciary has attributed charges to her unrelated to her attempt to watch the volleyball game, Ghavami's mother emphasized in an interview with Radio Farda that her daughter was 'arrested for the volleyball issue and most of her interrogations were also about this matter.' Ghavami's arrest has received international attention.