Jailed Iranian activist Farhad Meysami faces new charges over his criticism and hunger strike to protest against the threatened execution of Swedish-Iranian doctor Ahmedreza Djalali.
Mohammad Moghimi, Meysami's lawyer, told Radio Farda that his client refused to participate in a meeting over the case because he had not been given proper notification.
Meysami, a medical doctor, has been in prison since August 2018 after being sentenced to six years for supporting women protesting against the hijab law that forces them to cover their hair and bodies in public.
He was charged with “spreading propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security,” as well as for “insulting Islamic sanctities” because authorities said he denigrated the hijab.
In May, Meysami went on a hunger strike to protest the possible execution of Djalali, a Brussels university professor with dual Iranian-Swedish citizenship. He ended the hunger strike after 145 days.
Djalali, who specializes in disaster relief, was arrested in 2016 during an academic visit to Tehran. Rights groups and the Swedish government have condemned his detention.
Authorities accused him of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists and said Djalali would be executed on May 21, but his wife said it did not take place.
Iranian authorities have not commented on the situation and while they have said the decision to execute Djalali was final, they said the country's judiciary was studying a request by his lawyers to delay the action.
Dozens of Iranian women and men have been beaten, arrested, detained, and prosecuted for their peaceful protests against the forced wearing of the hijab this year.