TEHRAN, Jan 15: Iran's 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi refused to appear in court on Saturday, saying the summons had failed to state the charge against her.

Iran's conservative judiciary has ordered Ms Ebadi to appear before a branch of the feared Revolutionary Court, which deals with national security offences, or face arrest.

Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer who has riled religious hard liners in Iran by defending high-profile political dissidents, challenged the legality of the proceeding. "Today I informed them in writing that I will not show up because this summons is illegal," she said.

"According to the law, the summoning letter must specify if I am accused or not and what for. This one does not." Other activists and journalists have previously received letters summoning them to court with no stated reason. Ms Ebadi's refusal to attend will test that practice.

Set up after the 1979 revolution, the Revolutionary Court has jailed many political dissidents in the past. President Mohammad Khatami, whose reform efforts the judiciary has helped to foil, said Shirin Ebadi had little to fear.

"As head of state, I personally guarantee her safety and her freedom to continue her activities," he told reporters in Dakar. "It is just an ordinary case and it is going to be settled pretty soon," he added. -Reuters