London, 29 Mar – The Iranian Supreme Court has sentenced a man to have his eye gouged out after blinding another man in a street fight, The Independent reported on Monday.
The 28-year-old, identified only as Saman, was convicted under Iran’s strict retribution laws after fighting in the street with his then 25-year-old victim when he was 23, the report said.
Saman is said to have claimed that he had unintentionally blinded the man with a metal rod.
It is currently unknown when the sentence is due to be carried out.
Iran, which is a theocracy ultimately controlled by a group of religious clerics, uses a strict interpretation of the sharia law of “an eye for eye”, the report added.
“Last year, a man convicted of attacking another man with acid – blinding and disfiguring him for life in the city of Qoms – was sedated and had his left eye gouged out”, the Independent wrote.
“Since coming to power as a supposed moderate in 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has presided over the execution of more than 1,800 people as well as public beatings, floggings and amputations”.
“In 2014, a Christian man was sentenced to having his lips burnt off with a cigarette for eating during daylight hours in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan”.
“In June last year, authorities at the Central Prison in Mashhad, Khorasan Province, amputated four fingers from the right hands of two men sentenced for theft without anaesthetic, Amnesty International reports”.
“Despite reaching a deal to suspend its nuclear programme with six key Western nations – including the US – last year, Iran has shown no sign of giving more political or civil freedoms to its people”, the report added.
