Tehran: The lawyer of a jailed Iranian Instagram star has announced that she has contracted coronavirus in prison.
Known by her Instagram name Sahar Tabar, Fatemeh Khishvand rose to fame after posting photos on the social media site in which she resembled what has been described as a zombie version of Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.
She was arrested in late 2019 for crimes including blasphemy and instigating violence.
Head of Shahr-e Rey women's prison Mehdi Mohammadi has denied the infection.
"The news released by the lawyer of Fatemeh Khishvand is not true and I deny it," she told Iran's ISNA news agency.
Iran's coronavirus death toll is the highest in the Middle East with a total of more than 5,000, although there are fears the true number could be much higher.
Ms Khishvand's lawyer Payam Derafshan, who wrote an open letter to Iran's judiciary, which was posted on his Instagram account, said he had been told by the star's mother that his client had been moved to a quarantine section of the prison after displaying symptoms of the virus.
He added that Ms Khishvand - who was a minor when the "crimes" were committed - had not been eligible for temporary release because her case was still being processed, referring to the 85,000 prisoners Iran released in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Ms Khishvand made international headlines in 2017 when her heavily edited Instagram photos went viral and she joined a long list of online Iranian influencers who have fallen foul of the law.
Her Instagram account has since been deleted.
In 2018, Iran a teenager arrested for posting videos of herself dancing online and an official in the city of Mashhad was arrested after footage emerged showing a crowd of men and women dancing at a mall in the city, while six were arrested for Zumba dancing in 2017.
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