Ghoncheh Ghavami

Ghoncheh Ghavami (born 1989) also spelled as Goncheh Ghavami (Persian: غنچه قوامی‎‎) is a British-Iranian law graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London who was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison for protesting for equal access to sporting events in Iran.

On June 20, 2014, she was arrested for the first time after she attempted to attend a men-only volleyball match in Azadi Indoor Stadium of Tehran. Although she was released on the same day, she was re-arrested days later when she returned to collect her belongings; she was then taken to Evin Prison. Her arrest raised international protests, but Iranian officials denied the link between her arrest and the volleyball match. She was charged with "propaganda against the regime”, according to Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejeie, the second-ranking member of Iran's judiciary.

Women have been prohibited from attending male-only football matches in Iran since 1979, and was extended to volleyball matches in 2012.

Eventually, Ghavami was released on bail on 23 November 2014. She was sentenced to a one-year jail term and a two-year travel ban.

Ghavami was born in about 1989 and has an elder brother. She lived in Shepherd's Bush in London in 2014. She has dual British and Iranian nationality. She studied law and graduated from the Law School at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She worked for a charity in Iran teaching children to read and write.

On 20 June 2014 Ghavami was detained while trying to enter a Volleyball World League match (Iran vs Italy) at Azadi Indoor Stadium in Tehran. She and other women’s rights campaigners were protesting outside the stadium for equal access to sporting events. It is illegal for women to interact with male spectators at sports facilities in Iran. This law was allegedly introduced to protect female spectators from the lewd behaviour of other spectators. The arrested campaigners broke this law.

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