A British-Iranian woman imprisoned for attempting to to watch a Men's volleyball match in Iran has begun an infinite hunger strike to protest her jail term.
"She's been on hunger strike from Saturday," her brother, Iman Ghavami told AFP. "She's not eating any solid food and she's not drinking any liquids."
Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old graduate of University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies, was arrested on 20 June while trying to attend a men's volleyball match between Iran and Italy in Tehran's Azadi stadium. Women in Iran are banned from attending volleyball and football matches in Iran, which officials say protects them from lewd behaviour.
Ghavami reportedly said his sister's lawyer had seen the court document sentencing her to one year in jail. "The case is in limbo ... I don't understand why they don't want to issue the verdict when they have made the decision," he said. "It's quite concerning for us. They have no legal basis to have her detained."
Ghoncheh Ghavami's mother told BBC that her daughter was protesting against her illegal detention.
Ghavami following her arrest was initially released after a few hours, but was rearrested days later. Later the Iranian courts tried her for spreading anti-regime propaganda, a broad charge often used by the Iranian judiciary.
Ghavami previously has gone on hunger strike for two weeks before her sentencing. Her case has drawn international condemnation, which according to Amnesty International is "appalling".
The human rights group Amnesty International also revealed that she is being held at Evin prison, which has a reputation for brutality, and for keeping prisioners in solitary confinement. Ghavami's family have reportedly said that at least 41 days of her detention before trial were spent in solitary confinement.
Even as the British Foreign Office has raised concerns over the "grounds for this prosecution," an Al Jazeera report said that the situation could get more complicated as Iran does not recognise dual citizenship and treats dual nationals as Iranians.
The case comes at a time when Iran is under pressure for its 'horrible' human rights record. Recently, it despite an international outcry, executed a 26-year-old woman for killing a man who she said had tried to rape her.
