Jailed - For trying to attend a volleyball game

Act Now Ghoncheh Ghavami 25-year-old Ghoncheh Ghavami went to Tehran's Azadi Stadium in June to watch a volleyball match. Police used excessive force, including beatings, to disperse protesters at the stadium. Many, including Ghoncheh, were arrested. Demand respect for Ghoncheh and others like her in Iran. Dear Tracy, Can you imagine being jailed and locked in solitary confinement for trying to watch a volleyball game? In Iran, my home country, this is the fate that women face. 25-year-old Ghoncheh Ghavami - an Iranian-British national like me - went to Tehran's Azadi Stadium in June to watch a match during the International Federation of Volleyball World League games. In Iran, however, this simple act of attending a volleyball game can mean prison for a woman - and that's exactly what it meant for Ghoncheh. Since 2012, women have been banned from watching the sport. It's just one more example of the Iranian government exercising control over the daily lives of its citizens. Police used excessive force, including beatings, to disperse protesters at the stadium. Many, including Ghoncheh, were arrested. Ghoncheh spent 41 days largely in solitary confinement without access to her family, her lawyer... anyone who could help her. Today marks her hundredth day in Evin prison, and she has been continually without access to her lawyer. Use your voice to demand that Ghoncheh be unconditionally released. Ghoncheh was told that she is being charged with propaganda against the regime. She has even been told she will "not walk out of prison alive," and her detention was recently extended for at least another two months. You can help secure Ghoncheh's freedom, and the freedom of others like her who have been wrongfully imprisoned. Send a message to Iranian leaders now. Ghoncheh is a prisoner of conscience, a person jailed solely for the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Peaceful protest is a human right, and Ghoncheh needs your help in ensuring that her rights will be respected. Demand respect for Ghoncheh and others like her in Iran. Demand Ghoncheh's release today. Sincerely, Nazanin Boniadi Actress and human rights defender