Young woman jailed for wanting to watch sport in Iran -- Demand her release
She wanted to watch a volleyball game. Instead, she ended up in prison and threatened with death.
Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25 year old Iranian-British national, was arrested on 30 June 2014 after peacefully protesting Iran's ban on women in sports stadiums. She was taken to Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, locked in solitary confinement without access to her family or lawyer, and even told she would not walk out of prison alive.
Iran has imposed a ban on women watching football games in stadiums since 1979. In 2012 they extended this ban to volleyball matches. Iranian officials have frequently stated that the mixing of women and men in sports stadiums is not in the public interest and the discriminatory ban on Iranian women is for their own benefit.
Ghoncheh is a prisoner of conscience and needs your help. Send a message to Iranian leaders now.
Your Excellency,
I am writing to urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Ghoncheh Ghavami, who has been held in Evin Prison since 30 June. 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 Azadi Stadium.
I urge you to ensure that Ghoncheh Ghavami is protected from all forms of torture and other ill-treatment. I am also calling on you to ensure that she is no longer held in solitary confinement or isolation and is allowed regular visits from her family and her lawyer, pending her immediate and unconditional release.
[Your comments here]
Thank you for giving this matter your urgent attention.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name here]
Update #19 jaar geleden
We have just received word that Ghoncheh is feeling so desperate about her predicament that she’s embarked on a hunger strike. Her mother said that she appeared distressed and visibly thinner during a family visit to prison on 4 October, the first time they were allowed to visit since 16 September.
Please continue to mount pressure on the authorities to release Ghoncheh.
