An eye for an eye
2008-11-27 13:00
Tehran - A man who blinded a woman with acid after she spurned his marriage proposals will also be blinded with acid under Iran's Islamic law, a newspaper said on Thursday.
An Iranian court made the ruling on Wednesday based on the
system of "qisas" or fair retribution, Etemad-e Melli reported.
The man identified as Majid proposed several times but was
spurned by the woman, identified as Ameneh, the daily reported.
In revenge, he threw acid in her face as she left her work in
2004, it added.
She travelled to Spain for surgery to reconstruct her face but efforts to restore her sight failed. On return from Spain, she asked the court for retribution, the newspaper said.
"Ever since I was subject to acid being thrown on my face, I
have a constant feeling of being in danger," she said, adding that Majid had also threatened to kill her in the past.
The newspaper published pictures of Ameneh's face before the
attack and, still disfigured, after reconstructive surgery.
Majid was quoted as saying he did not regret his action but added: "I threw acid on her face so that she would be mine forever ... I did not know that acid could have such an effect on her face."
At the end of the court session, the judges "unanimously
decided to sentence the accused to 'qisas' of his body part,
blinding by acid" and to pay compensation, the report said.
Judiciary officials could not be reached for comment.
The concept of "qisas" also holds in other cases in Iran,
such as murder. A victim's family can demand the death of a
convicted murderer or commute the sentence in return for
financial compensation from the culprit.
The newspaper did not give details about how or when the
sentence would be carried out. Court rulings can be appealed.
(Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; writing by Edmund Blair;
editing by Philippa Fletcher)