16 some 12 years ago. Iran Focus
The defendant, only identified by his first name Vahid, was convicted of deliberately pouring acid on the face of another individual by the name of Gholam-Hossein while he worked as a labourer in Tehran when he was 16 years old, though he maintained throughout the trial that the attack was not intentional and that he had only meant to threaten the man because of an earlier scuffle. He said that the lid of the battery which the acid was in accidentally opened.
The phrase An eye for an eye is very stringently adhered to in Irans Islamic law.
The original court ordered for acid to be sprayed on Vahids face as retribution for his actions, though his lawyer appealed the decision on the grounds that the rest of his face would also be damaged from the acid.
A second court rejected the appeal and instead ordered for Vahids eyes to be gouged out by a qualified surgeon, so as not to damage the face itself.
The State Supreme Court has ruled for authorities to go ahead with carrying out the punishment, though Vahids lawyer is presently negotiating with Gholam-Hosseins family to give clemency to his defendant. Vahid has been requested to pay 3 billion Rials ($300,000) as blood-money to forego the punishment however he has stated that he does not have such an amount of money.
Under Iranian law, boys above the age of fifteen are considered as adults and could be convicted of capital offences. Under increasing international pressure for violations of the rights of the child, the Iranian regime keeps convicted children in juvenile prisons and issues court verdicts only after they turn 18 so as to carry out sentences that would have be handed out if the defendants were adults.
