Jailed British-Iranian woman released on bail

British-Iranian woman Ghoncheh Ghavami controversially jailed in Tehran after trying to attend a men's volleyball match was released on bail on Sunday pending an appeal court verdict.

The 25-year-old was sentenced by an Iranian court to a year in prison.

Ghoncheh Ghavami was found guilty of spreading anti-regime propaganda, her lawyer, Alizadeh Tabatabaie had said. Iran banned women from volleyball games in 2012 and argued that the step was aimed at protecting women from the lewd behaviour of male fans, the BBC reported.

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.

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."