In a literal interpretation of Sharia law’s eye for an eye, a man in Iran, who was convicted of blinding another person in an acid attack, was blinded earlier this month, marking the first time for such a punishment to be carried out in the country. The accused, who remains unidentified, was made unconscious at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj on March 3, as medics prepared to gouge out his left eye.

Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam of Iran Human Rights condemned the ruling as barbaric.

“Medical staff who cooperate with the Iranian authorities in this act have broken the Hippocratic oath and cannot call themselves doctors,” he said.

The man, who was convicted of attacking his victim five years ago in Qom, was sentenced to be blinded in both eyes, pay a hefty fine and serve ten years in prison. However, the victim, who, under Iran’s laws, has the final say in his perpetrator’s punishment, decided last minute that the blinding of the attacker’s right eye could be delayed by six months. Now that he has had his left eye blinded, the attacker can plead with the plaintiff to spare him from being blinded completely.

In Iran, acid attacks are widespread and often a result of family feuds. In this case, the attacker had been hired by the relatives of his victim’s wife to carry out a revenge on their behalf. It is unclear if the attacker agreed to carry out the heinous act for financial gains or was related to the family that hired him. While Iranian officials continue to worry about the increasing occurrence of acid attacks that lead to such retribution rulings, human rights activists from across the world condemn this aspect of Sharia law, calling it inhumane. Even though Sharia law allows qisas or retributions to be carried out, it also speaks in favour of clemency. However, in Iran, victims or their families have the final say in such cases and can intervene at any time.

This is not the first time that an acid attacker has been sentenced to be blinded in Iran. However, this is definitely the first known case where the punishment has been carried out effectively. In previous cases, medics have refused to cooperate with law enforcement officials.

Raha Bahreini, researcher with Amnesty International in Iran, said punishing any person by intentionally blinding him or her is “an unspeakably cruel and shocking act”.

“Blinding is totally prohibited under international law, along with stoning, flogging, amputation and other forms of corporal punishment provided in Iran’s Islamic penal code and must not be carried out under any circumstances,” she said. Instead of meting out such macabre punishments, Bahreini said Iranian authorities “should raise awareness about violence including root causes, ensure that perpetrators of acid attacks are punished with appropriate and proportionate penalties consistent with international human rights norms, and survivors are provided with effective remedies, including compensation and psychosocial and medical rehabilitation.”

Another man, who was also expected to be blinded in Karaj the same day but had his execution delayed after authorities received a request from his victim, Davoud Roshanaei.

“Hamid was about to be rendered unconscious on the bed when his father entered the room and asked me for more time,” said Roshanaei, who has been disfigured and lost sight in one eye as the result of the assault. “I gave them two more months to provide me with compensation for my treatment.”

In 2011, Ameneh Bahrami, one of Iran’s many victims of acid attack, received praise from international human rights organizations after she pardoned her attacker only hours before he was scheduled to be blinded with acid. Bahrami was attacked with acid and disfigured for life, after she repeatedly rejected her attacker’s proposal for marriage. In 2014, a spree of acid attacks on young women in the country’s most popular tourist destination, Isfahan, led to shock and outrage world over. Activists alleged that the women had been targeted by hardliners for refusing to wear clothes deemed appropriate in Iran. Naturally, the government denied these charges.

Photo Credits: The BBC