Iran has removed the eye of a man found guilty of blinding another man in an acid attack,making it a literal case of an “eye for an eye” punishment.
This is the first time time Iran has carried out such a punishment on an accused person.
In a story carried on The Guardian website, the convicted acid attacker whose i identity has not been revealed,was rendered unconscious in Rajai-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj on Tuesday as medics gouged out his left eye.
The Guardian also cited the state owned Hamshahri which first carried the report.
Human rights activists have condemned the blinding terming it as barbaric.The activists have also hipped blame on doctors who carried out the act in cooperation with government saying they have broken their oath of work.
The man had been found guilty of throwing acid in the face of his unnamed victim five years ago in the city of Qom, blinding and disfiguring him for life.
The attacker was also ordered to pay a fine and will spend 10 years in prison.
The attacker initially was supposed to lose both eyes on Tuesday but his victim decided to postpone the removal of the right eye for six months, the Guardian reports.
The attacker will be able to plead with the plaintiff to spare him from being blinded fully.
Acid attacks have been rampant in Iran in recent years, usually driven by family feuds. Hamshahri reported that the man in this case had been hired by the relatives of his victim’s wife to take revenge on their behalf.
It was not clear if he had carried out the attack for financial gain or whether he was related to the wife’s family.
