TEHRAN // A British-Iranian woman controversially jailed months ago in Tehran after trying to attend a men’s volleyball match was released on bail on Sunday pending an appeal court verdict.
The case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a law graduate from London, has been surrounded by confusion since her lawyer said earlier this month that the 25-year-old had been sentenced to a year in prison for “spreading propaganda against the regime”.
That reported jail term has been denied by judicial authorities, but in a fresh twist Ms Ghavami’s mother Susan Moshtaghian said a judge had agreed to let her daughter leave jail on bail of 1 billion Iranian rials (Dh137,000).
“Right now, my daughter is freed until the Court of Appeal issues the final verdict,” she told the ISNA news agency, appearing to confirm the initial prison sentence.
Ms Moshtaghian said she was told about the one-year jail term and an additional two-year restriction on leaving Iran.
“We hope she’ll be acquitted by the appeal court of the charges,” she said.
Ms Ghavami was arrested on June 20 outside Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, where she and others were demanding that women be allowed in to watch a volleyball match between Iran and Italy.
She was refused entry as women are not allowed to watch male athletes in the Islamic republic.
Officials have said that Ms Ghavami was arrested for security reasons unrelated to the sporting event.
* Agence France-Presse, additional reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg
