A British-Iranian woman held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison for 100
days after she tried to attend a men's volleyball game has gone on a
hunger strike.
Law student Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was visiting family and working for
a charity organization in Iran when she was arrested for attempting to
attend a men-only volleyball match last June, then imprisoned for three
months before being charged with “propaganda against the regime.”
She had attempted to enter Azadi Stadium in Tehran with a dozen other
women to see the Iran men’s volleyball team play Italy. Ghavami’s
brother, Iman, has said that the charges against his sister are
“ambiguous.”
“Government of Iran & the UK government,” reads the petition
posted on Change.org by Iman. "Please allow my sister to come home. She
should not have been arrested for going to a volleyball match.”
A law that prevents women from entering sports venues was enacted in
2012, when it was deemed that mixed crowds were "un-Islamic" because the
male athletes are not considered fully dressed.
“I'm a distressed brother who is fighting to bring his sister home,”
Iman said on the petition. “My sister is a law student in University of
London. She should not have been arrested in the first place and does
not deserve to be in solitary.”
The brother added that his sister thought she would be allowed to
attend the volleyball matches because of the fact that Iran was warned
about the ban by the International Federation of Volleyball.
Ghavami was originally released after being questioned for four hours
when she tried to enter the stadium. The women with her were released
as well. She was arrested again days later, however, when she tried to
collect her belongings from a police station and her dual citizenship
was discovered.
The brother’s petition has garnered over 500,000 signatures urging
the British government to do more to bring Ghavami back to the UK, where
authorities have said they are “aware of reports” of Ghavami’s
imprisonment but unable to do much because of limited diplomatic powers
in Iran.
Last Wednesday marked 100 days of imprisonment for Ghavami.She has
spent 50 days of her imprisonment in solitary confinement before being
moved to a different cell.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told CNN that Ghvami’s UK citizenship is not recognized.
“According to our laws [she is an Iranian citizen] only, we do not
accept dual citizenship, but the bottom line is our aim is for the laws
to be respected every step of the way.” Rouhani said last month.
Her mother, Susan Moshtaghian, has also decided to go on hunger
strike in solidarity with her daughter and protest against the Iranian
authorities.
“I am extremely concerned about Ghoncheh’s health and life. I hold
[the] authorities fully responsible for any harm inflicted on my
daughter,” she told British newspaper the Guardian. “‘She told me she
has been on hunger strike since Oct. 1 as objection to her uncertain
conditions and 100 days of temporary custody with no basis. I am
restless since I heard about this and I have also gone on hunger strike.
I stayed silent for 82 days in the hope that my daughter comes back
home safely. Now I am worried about her life and will not stop until
she’s free.
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Tuesday, 7 October 2014
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