Homa Hoodfar is shown in this undated image provided by her family.The Canadian Press
The family of a Canadian-Iranian university professor jailed in Iran says the judge in the case has refused to accept her lawyer and has appointed one to his own liking.
Homa Hoodfar's relatives said in a statement today the judge also gave no explanation for rejecting a second lawyer they proposed.
They say they have no choice but to proceed with what they call a "show trial" because of Hoodfar's recent hospitalization and her declining health.
Hoodfar, who taught at Montreal's Concordia University, has been held at Tehran's notorious Evin prison since June 6.
She is being held on what supporters and family call trumped-up charges of collaboration with a hostile government and propaganda against the state.
Hoodfar, 65, suffers from a serious neurological condition and the family has said requests for a check-up by an independent specialist doctor have been ignored.
Nearly 5,000 academics worldwide have signed a petition this summer in support of Hoodfar, with some rallying outside the Iranian Embassy in Dublin last week.
Hoodfar has Irish citizenship through marriage.
Her family has said the Iranian probe into the retired anthropology professor centred on her "dabbling in feminism" and security matters.
Hoodfar is known for her research on Muslim women in various regions of the world.