Iran: Acid attacker's eye gouged out under sharia law

An Iranian man who blinded another man in an acid attack had one of his eyes gouged by medics under sharia law's eye for an eye rule.

The acid attacker, whose identity was not disclosed, was rendered unconscious at the Rajaishahr prison, in the city of Karaj before medics removed his left eye, the Guardian reported citing Iranian newspaper Hamshahri.

He was arrested after throwing acid on in the man's face, blinding and disfiguring him for life. The incident occurred in the city of Qom in 2010.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights (IHR) told IBTimes UK that Iran previously sentenced acid attackers to the same treatment, but the sentence was hardly ever implemented.

"This week two people who carried out acid attacks were going to be blinded. In one instance the offender agreed to carry out the sentence himself, but the punishment has been postponed by two months," he explained.

"The other man, who had his left eye gouged, was sentenced to blindness from both eyes. His right eye will be gouged in six months."

IHR urged the international community to voice their dissent over the punishment and put pressure on Iran to stop carrying out "this brutal treatment".

"Iran has been showing their mild side to the international community, but this does not correspond to what really happens in the country," Moghaddam said.

"It's extremely important that western countries don't overlook such a brutal practice because they will send a completely wrong signal to Iran and all the other regions.

"By blinding the man, Iranian authorities clearly demonstrated the brutal side of their system and it's not fundamentally different from what the Islamic State (Isis) does," he continued.

"Unfortunately, this is not the only thing that happens in Iran. From Monday [ 2 March] until yesterday [ 4 March] at least 31 people have been executed and again I haven't seen any reaction.

"This worries me. We urge the international community not to compromise the human rights in their dialogue with Iran."

Acid throwing is often carried out to disfigure people, not to kill them. The practice is largely widespread in Asian and Middle Eastern countries such as India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and also some areas of South America and Africa.

Iran has seen a surge in acid attacks in recent years. Last October, thousands of people took to the streets in the city of Isfahan after at least four women had been disfigured with acid.

: "This worries me. We urge the international community not to compromise the human rights in their dialogue with Iran".