Atena Farghadani, a 29-year-old Iranian artist who is currently serving more than 12 years in prison for criticizing government officials, now faces further charges for an "illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery," after she shook the hand of her lawyer Mohammad Moghimi when he visited her in jail, according to The Independent.
Handshakes between female clients and male lawyers are still considered illegal in Iran.
Farghadani has been arrested numerous times, with the first being in August 2014 for publishing satirical political images on her Facebook account. She spent three months in the Evin prison in Tehran for that charge.
While in jail, she wrote letters of protest to the men who rule Iran, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, Hassan Rouhani, the president, and the head of the prison service, detailing accounts of the mistreatment she has received at the hands of the prison guards, reports The Telegraph.
When her letters went unanswered, she decided to go the extra mile, recording a video account of her time in jail and uploading it on YouTube.
"I have produced this video with my own free will and consent," she said.
"I am publishing it to prevent such maltreatment of any prisoner. I can only hope that in the future I hope that there will be no political prisoners at all. I also hope that no political prisoner will receive such demeaning and degrading treatment."
Due to the YouTube video, she was arrested once more in January of 2015, where she was brought before Judge Abolghassem Salavati, who has garnered an infamous reputation across the country for having ordered a string of executions. Her trial only lasted a day.
Accusations ranged from "colluding against national security, spreading "propaganda against the system" and "insulting" the supreme leader, the president and her interrogators.
After the visit of her male lawyer, another charge has been brought up against her, which may very well extend the time she is set to stay behind bars.
A petition for her release has already been initiated by Amnesty International.
Watch the YouTube video of her account here.
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