An academic dissident whose death sentence last year sparked Iran's biggest pro-reform protests for years has refused an order to undergo psychological tests.
University lecturer Hashem Aghajari, awaiting retrial after his death sentence for blasphemy was overturned by the Supreme Court, is reportedly outraged by a court order that he beexamined by five specialists.
The official news agency IRNA said the Supreme Court had ordered the examination to determine if Aghajari was mentally sound when he made a speech last year in which he said Muslims were not "monkeys" to blindly follow the teachings of clerical leaders.
"Aghajari considers such allegations against him an unjust insult and will refuse to undergo a psychological examination," IRNA quoted his wife, Zahra Behnoudi, as saying.
"He wants to defend himself in an open court with the presence of a jury to reveal the truth."
Aghajari was sentenced to death after a closed-door trial without a jury for a speech in which he said Islam should be interpreted by each new generation, not the faith's hierarchy.
