Iranian rights activist Sepideh Gholian was removed from a court during a public session of her trial because she refused to accept a judge's order to wear a "chador," a traditional full-body cloak that leaves only the face exposed.
The judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency said Gholian entered the court on July 19 with a "very small" piece of cloth on her head, which she later removed, prompting the judge to order her removal.
Gholian's lawyer, Amir Raeisian, confirmed the incident and said the hearing was subsequently postponed.
He told the Shargh newspaper that Gholian had agreed to wear a head scarf, "but since the court insisted on a chador, she did not agree and the court hearing was not held."
Gholian is on trial over a complaint from an Iranian state television reporter after Gholian implicated her in coercing the activist to make a forced confession. She activist has accused the reporter of working hand in hand with security officials.
In a letter sent from Evin Prison on July 18, Gholian expressed her readiness to face the court despite earlier statements that she would not participate in the proceedings of "show court of the Islamic republic."
Instead, she said she had no fear of recounting the truth in public and was prepared to defend herself.
It was the second court hearing for Gholian in 10 days.
On July 10, an appeals court in Tehran confirmed a two-year prison sentence handed to the activist for chanting a slogan against Iran's supreme leader shortly after being released from detention.
She was originally arrested along with more than a dozen activists, protest organizers, and workers during the Haft Tappeh Sugar Factory strike in November 2018. While most were released on bond the next day, Gholian was imprisoned for a month.
Her release from prison in Ahvaz in December 2018 was short-lived as she was again arrested in January 2019 after Iranian state television aired footage in which it purported to show Gholian confessing to taking part in alleged Western-backed efforts to overthrow the government.
She promptly countered those accusations on social media by saying she had been beaten and forced to make a false confession.
Unrest has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of insurance support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.
Adding to the dissent, the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly breathed new life into demonstrations, which officials across the country have since tried to quell with harsh measures.
The activist HRANA news agency said that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing out harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters.