Iran to blind criminal with acid in 'eye for an eye' justice

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Retribution granted to woman who had acid thrown in her face by man she refused to marry
Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Friday 13 May 2011 18.56 BST

In a literal application of the sharia law of an eye for an eye, Iran is ready for the first time to blind a man with acid, after he was found guilty of doing the same to a woman who refused to marry him.

Majid Movahedi, 30, is scheduled to be rendered unconscious in Tehran's judiciary hospital at noon on Saturday while Ameneh Bahrami, his victim, drops acid in both his eyes, her lawyer said.

Bahrami who had asked for an eye for an eye retribution in the court, was disfigured and blinded by Movahedi in 2004 when he threw a jar of acid in her face while she was returning home from work. "He was holding a red container in his hand. He looked into my eyes for a second and threw the contents of the red container into my face," she told the court in 2008.

According to Iranian media, Bahrami's lawyer, Ali Sarafi, has said: "A very good sentence has been given and an appropriate method has been adopted so that the convict will be blinded by few drops of acids in eyes after he is rendered unconscious."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/13/iran-blind-criminal-acid

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More details at the link. (includes disturbing photo of Bahrami)

[LoZoccolo]

1. !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuhOj2dQTrk

[RebelOne]

2. He should be awake just as she was when he did it to her. n/t

[fascisthunter]

3. oh my gawd.... just sickening

poor lady

[nc4bo]

4. Iranian media says it will be both eyes but Bahrami said in '09 it will be only 1 because

according to Iranian law, each man is worth 2 women.

So I wonder what the truth is?

[WatsonT]

5. I don't support this kind of justice but I also can't say I feel bad for the guy

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. Yeah. Me too

[SheilaT]

6. So sorry, but I just don't think

this is "justice".

What he did was despicable to the point that there are hardly words to describe how awful it was. But blinding him?

What's really disheartening is that Islam is mostly a religion of love and tolerance. Unfortunately, they've hung onto the Old Testament "An eye for an eye" model, and are all too quick to apply it.

[iandhr]

7. eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind

gandhi

[nonperson]

18. Sometimes it seems as though the whole world is blind to begin with

Just look around.

[closeupready]

8. Does this ruling indicate some sort of support as to the equality of women?

I'm not sure how to feel about this ruling.

On the one hand, it seems barbaric. On the other hand, it has a sort of primitive justice about it.

[Recursion]

9. It might be important to remember that "an eye for an eye" was a moderating rule when it came about

That is, limit retribution simply to the damage done, rather than annihilating the attacker's entire clan.

[aquart]

10. People forget that.

But blinding a man who blinded a woman? Yah, that's far gentler than I would be.

[AlbertCat]

12. it has a sort of primitive justice about it.

If you think revenge is just.

It's stupid.

[sleekgreek]

13. good ruling

I think revenge in most instances are just. good ruling, he should be awake though.

[kurtzapril4]

16. Confucius says:

Those who seek revenge best dig two graves.

However, I gotta disagree with him on this one.

[WatsonT]

28. It is interesting that they chose to punish the male who attacked her

rather than to punish her further for having the audacity to be attacked.

For them that's a pretty big deal.

[AlbertCat]

11. few drops of acids in eyes after he is rendered unconscious."

How civilized!

:crazy: :wtf: :scared: :puke:

[nonperson]

19. Much worse than shock and awe

Civilization is in the eye of the beholder.

[Richardo]

15. I wonder HOW he is going to be 'rendered unconscious'

Since they use that phrase twice with no further details.

[Poll_Blind]

22. When punishments like this are carried out, the guilty party is....

...anesthetized or, in the case of execution heavily sedated. The execution thing is based on something I read about Saudi Arabia, anyway.

For instance, in an "eye for an eye" situation, if the victim was wounded in such a way that the guilty was to have their hand chopped off, the area would be anesthetized and at least one doctor would be present to perform the amputation while there would likely be a second to monitor vitals and also help out with dressing the wound after amputation so the guilty does not bleed to death.

As barbaric as it may seem to us, the "eye for an eye" thing is carried out with a level of seriousness which we would also apply to our own methods of execution. We don't drug those we are about to execute in America, however. At least I've never heard of it.

PB

[Gregorian]

17. The human is a stupid speciie.

Go to the moon. Invent refrigeration. Lots of amazing stuff. And lots of crappy stuff.

The way I see it, if we can make this a better world, then why not do so.

How will blinding this man make this a better world? Will someone really feel better once he has been blinded?

It takes effort to make a better world. It takes effort to be hurt and then not seek retribution. Believe me, I know. You don't walk away from a 1200 student high school, being the second smallest student, and now know how it feels to be tread on.

[sulphurdunn]

20. I don't understand

what the Christian Right has against Sharia Law? It is Biblical after all, but then again so is killing women for adultery, forced marriage, slavery, genocide, the prohibition of usury, caring for the needy and forgiveness of those who abuse and spitefully use us. I never have figured out what to make of the Bible.

[Heywood J]

21. If it was wrong for him to do it to her,

it's wrong for her to do it to him. Either it's a crime or it's not - make up your mind. For all those of you who cheer this on, would you support letting a male rape victim rape the convicted man?

Let him rot in prison instead.


ETA:

If, in the course of administering "an eye for an eye", the victim/state happens to screw up and do worse or more damage than was inflicted upon them, what then? Would you put the one who administers the eye-for-an-eye on trial for the excess? What if the victim/state happens to inadvertently kill the convicted while doing so? The court ordered punishment was not death. Would this be considered manslaughter, negligence, or something else?

[Auntie Bush]

23. Sorry, That's just plain barbaric. What century is this?

I can't believe some people here condone this type of punishment.
If you can say an eye for an eye then why not 2 wrongs don't make a right?

[left on green only]

24. Wisdom might dictate that he only be made to donate his eyes.

Think of all of the people who are waiting to receive eye transplants. Why waste this scum bag's two good eyes on satisfying some low life, fanatic, religious testament? Especially when according to the "civilized" version of the story, the sacrifice procedure is to be carried out in a "humane" fashion? Just saying.

[Betty]

25. what they ought to do

if it's possible, would be to give her sight back by taking one of his eyes or corneas and transplanting it to her. If it were possible. Why destroy a healthy eye or eyes? It's a barbaric punishment, but if they are intent on blinding him, try to give the woman her sight back.

[riderinthestorm]

26. She's blind!! So some dr is going to guide her hands to perform this act??!!

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the fact that some doctor is going to guide this woman's hands to do this damage....

Sorry but that's fucked up. On so many levels.... This is fucked up.

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. Iran eye-for-an-eye acid punishment 'postponed'

TEHRAN — The court-ordered blinding of an Iranian man who hurled acid in the face of university classmate Ameneh Bahrami has been postponed, the ISNA news agency said on Saturday without giving a source.

The sentence had been scheduled to be carried out at noon (0730 GMT) on Saturday at the judiciary hospital in Tehran in the presence of a physician and representatives of the coroners' office and the prosecution.

"The execution of qesas (retribution in kind) of Majid (Movahedi)... has been postponed to an unknown date," ISNA reported on its website just hours before the appointed time.

Movahedi was sentenced to be blinded in both eyes in February 2009 after being convicted of hurling acid in the face of Bahrami when she repeatedly spurned his offer of marriage.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjGxd9iYiQTDkHV1u69gBzEo1bRQ?docId=CNG.d56eacdc3677087406aceed5480b5969.61

Amazing that a doctor was going to do it.

[Bill McBlueState]

29. That's fucked up.

I'm an atheist, but you have to give Jesus some credit if he said what was ascribed to him:

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

A literal application of "an eye for an eye" is so barbaric, people were already speaking against it 2000 years ago.

[KDLarsen]

30. Says a lot about some

That they are willing to accept the aggressive interpretation of Eye for an Eye, rather than the limiting one, which sure would make for a much more civilised society.

And as gruesome as this mans crime is, letting the victim perform the same act on him only goes to put her at the same level of barbarity.

Truly disgusting.

[palmtree guy]

31. Iran is Iran

laws of THEIR land NOT ours. If thats how they roll, then thats the rules, who are we to judge anybody?

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. Why should we not judge people outside our own countries?

They're still human beings. Why is a political boundary a reason to ignore what someone else does? I judge their laws on homosexuality as barbaric, for instance. I judge the wish for the death penalty for blasphemy, that a lot of Pakistanis have expressed, to be barbaric too.

[palmtree guy]

36. we are not Iranian

so its not our place to change THEIR rules, I guess my feeling is we need to fix whats wrong HERE in the states first...glass houses and all!!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

38. You don't like us saying that bad things are bad? Tough.

We'll keep on saying it.

[Psephos]

40. We are human.

That trumps Iranian or any other color on a map in matters of basic, universal human rights.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

39. because humans opine and we are humans.

[CJvR]

32. I confess...

...to being somewhat split on this issue. Normally I find sharia justice revolting - but something drastic needs to be done about this disgusting acid throwing custom that have evolved in these shitholes. Perhaps a bit of barbarism is just the thing.

[and-justice-for-all]

34. I did not realize that it was still the bronze aga...nt

[alp227]

35. update: Acid blinding sentence postponed by Iran after international outcry

"Iran has postponed blinding a man with acid following an international outcry over the retributive punishment imposed after he was found guilty of doing the same to a woman who refused to marry him." --The Guardian

[johnroshan]

37. What is really scary is the amount of support this punishment has in DU...

The battle for civility is not won in the courts or political meetings. It starts and ends in the hearts of men and women. If the woman doesn't want her attacker to be punished in this horrific way, he won't be. Its useless to blame the government and the judiciary when it is the people who want this kind of punishment.

It really disheartens me reading the comments that support this practice.