Tehran, Iran: A British-Iranian woman controversially jailed months ago in Tehran after trying to attend a men's volleyball match was released on bail Sunday pending an appeal court verdict, her family said.
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 committing propaganda against the Iranian regime.
That reported jail term has been denied by judicial authorities, but in a fresh twist Ghavami's mother Susan Moshtaghian said a judge had agreed to let her daughter leave jail on bail of 1,000,000,000 Iranian rials (around $30,700).
"Right now, my daughter is freed until the Court of Appeal issues the final verdict," she told the ISNA news agency in a report in which she also appeared to confirm the initial prison sentence.
Saying that the one-year jail term and an additional two-year restriction on leaving Iran had been communicated to her, Moshtaghian added: "My daughter merely defended herself in the preliminary court and insisted on herself being innocent.
"We hope she'll be acquitted by the appeal court of the charges." Ghavami was detained outside Azadi ("Freedom" in Persian) Stadium in the capital on June 20, having gone there to watch a volleyball match. She was refused entry as women are not allowed to watch male athletes in the Islamic republic. Officials have said that Ghavami was arrested for security reasons unrelated to the sporting event.
Her release on bail came after Moshtaghian went to court on Sunday to seek her release on medical grounds, but by allowing the young woman out on bail the judge said "there would be no need for sick leave". Ghavami is said to have developed gastrointestinal problems after going on hunger strike twice. She has also lost weight since being jailed.
Her brother, Iman, told AFP separately that she "was released on bail just a couple of hours ago and she will stay with my parents" in Tehran.
