DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian-British woman detained while trying to attend a men's volleyball game in Iran has been found guilty of spreading propaganda against the ruling system and sentenced to a year in prison, her lawyer said Sunday. Ghavami's lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, told The Times that he was informally shown the verdict against his client but had not received official notification. "They have not given concrete reasons, but they have announced to me the new accusations raised against Ghoncheh based on new evidence," he said. She thought women would be allowed to attend World League volleyball matches after Iran was warned about the matter by International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB). She is a graduate of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies and had been volunteering to help street kids in Iran for a few months, her brother said. Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was arrested outside Tehran's Azadi Stadium in June while taking part in a demonstration against the ban, which was enacted in 2012, according to Amnesty International. According to the London-based organization, she was beaten during her arrest, and was eventually incarcerated at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. She reportedly went on a 14-day hunger strike in early October to protest the conditions of her detention. Iranian authorities do not recognize dual nationalities for its citizens and treats them as Iranians under law. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said it was “aware of reports” of her imprisonment but its diplomatic powers are limited in Iran. "We have concerns about the grounds for this prosecution, due process during the trial, and Miss Ghavami's treatment whilst in custody," the British statement said.
– Ghoncheh Ghavami may be the world's only volleyball-related political prisoner. The 25-year-old, who was arrested when she tried to attend a men's volleyball game in Iran earlier this year, has been "locked up simply for peacefully having her say about how women are discriminated against in Iran," an Amnesty International director says. She was first arrested in June and has now been sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly spreading propaganda against the ruling system, reports the AP. She tried to enter the stadium with other women to protest Iran's ban on women attending male-only matches, and her brother believes she was singled out for harsh treatment because she holds both Iranian and British citizenship. Iran extended a long-standing ban on women attending men's soccer matches to volleyball in 2012, arguing that women needed protection from unruly fans. Amnesty says Ghavami was beaten after her arrest and put in solitary confinement in a Tehran prison, where she spent two weeks on hunger strike last month. Her lawyer tells the Los Angeles Times that he has never been given the chance to meet with his client outside of court and that authorities have threatened to put her on trial again over unspecified additional charges. The BBC reports that British authorities have raised objections to Ghavami's treatment, and a petition to free her has received more than 700,000 signatures. (Last month, despite international outcry, Iran hanged a woman convicted of killing her would-be rapist.)