A man has spent 65 days on hunger strike in an Iranian prison to protest against his five-year sentence for taking part in a demonstration against acid attacks on women.

Ali Shariati's health has deteriorated as his weight dropped dramatically, his mother said.

The 30-year-old was sentenced to five years in September 2015 for attending a demonstration against government inaction following a spate of acid attacks in a number of Iranian cities.

Women were reportedly targeted women for not being properly veiled.

One woman died and another, Soheila Jokesh, lost the sight in one of her eyes after having the corrosive substance poured over her face.

Iranian authorities made four arrests but said there was not enough evidence to charge anyone, sparking protest rallies in the capital Tehran and Isfahan where Mr Shariati was arrested.

The charges against him were unclear but he was sentenced seven months later in September 2015.

In an interview with Persian language channel Manato TV, Mr Shariati's mother Shayesteh Shahidi said her son's weight had dropped from 70kg to 50kg since he began his fast.

“Last week, during contact visitation, he collapsed on the ground in the visitation room," she said

Iranian women continue to defy cycling ban

“It was hard for me as a mother to see [my] child collapsing on the ground in front of [my] eyes

She also alleged Mr Shariati had been denied water by the prison authorities.

“My son is not a killer, he’s not a criminal," she added. “I want them [Iranian politicians] to save my child I want them to hear his voice."

Amnesty International's Iran Researcher Raha Bahreini also appealed for Mr Shariati's immediate release.

“Ali Shariati has been unjustly imprisoned for peacefully protesting," she said in a statement. “He’s a prisoner of conscience who shouldn’t even be in prison in the first place.

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“His terrible predicament is part of a very disturbing pattern: the Iranian authorities punish those who bravely speak out against human rights abuses, but do little or nothing about the primary abuses themselves.

“Instead of watching Ali Shariati go to the brink of death on hunger strike, the authorities should release him immediately and unconditionally.”

Outspoken Iranian politician Ali Motahari has also condemned the treatment of Mr Shariati and other political prisoners.

"I hope judicial officials resolve this issue wisely to prevent human rights excuses for the enemies of the Islamic revolution," he wrote in a social media post, alongside a photo in which Mr Shariati looked malnourished.

Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Show all 11 1 /11 Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Wall of skateboards in the Grand Bazaar of Tehran Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Tehran, the most progressive city in Iran, is home to the country's largest community of skateboarders. They number about 500. The Alborz Mountains overlook the north of the capital. Skateboarders like to meet over there to go down from mount Toshâl to city center skatepark. In Tehran’s heavy traffic, this horde of skateboarders is in the middle of a very dangerous journey Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Documenting themselves with Go-Pro cameras, the crew of skateboarders rides through the city, past the wide-eyed gazes of passers-by. The footage will be posted on Instagram, a popular social network among young Iranians. Unlike Facebook, Instagram is not blocked by the Iranian government Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran In Southern Tehran, Ashkan kickflips in front of a mural depicting the ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran In recent years, groups of skateboarders appeared in all of Iran's major cities. Iranian cities, where modern and traditional architecture intermingle, are their playgrounds. Unlike Tehran, there is no skate park in Isfahan. Young skaters must settle for the street Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran In front of a mosque in Isfahan, around 211 miles south from Tehran, Erfan is towed by a carriage usually meant for tourists Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Persian rugs are traditionally used for sitting to eat, drink tea or rest. While waiting for friends from Ispahan to joint them, the skateboarders from Tehran improvise a game with a board without wheels Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran The Grand Bazaar in Tehran is usually filled with people, but Friday is the weekly day of rest in Iran. Amid ghostly decor skateboarders lose themselves in the many narrow alleys of the labyrinthine market Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran In Tehran, Erfan, 24, rides hurtles past the portraits of Khamenei (left), the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1989, and his predecessor Khomeini (far right) Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran In Kerman, located in southeastern Iran, girls take ownership of skateboarding, too. Wearing mandatory veils and long sleeves, here are three that train regularly with boys Mathias Zwick Mathias Zwick: Skateboarders of Iran Although skateboarding is one of the few sports where genders intermingle, girls do not have the same opportunities than boys. Mandatory veils and long sleeves make practicing skateboard harder under the intense heat of a summer in Shiraz, said Ehlam, 21 years old, skater girl, electric guitar player and also breakdancer Mathias Zwick

Earlier this week, another political activist in Iran, who is serving 15 years in prison for charges of conspiracy against President Hassan Rouhani's regime, ended a 70-day hunger strike after authorities agreed to temporarily release his wife from prison.

Arash Sadeghi's wife Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is serving six years for "insulting Islamic sanctities" and "spreading propaganda against the regime".

Ms Iraee was imprisoned in October after Iranian authorities discovered an unpublished story she had written about a woman being stoned to death.