Court orders Iranian man blinded

Court orders Iranian man blinded

news.bbc.co.uk

A court in Iran has ruled that a man who blinded a woman with acid after she spurned his marriage proposals will also be blinded with acid.

The ruling was reported in Iranian newspapers on Thursday.

The punishment is legal under the Islamic Sharia code of qias or equivalence, which allows retribution for violent crimes.

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I don't want to argue if this man had this punishment comeing or not. What I think needs to be discused is, the question is this the kind of court, and the kind of justice that should be delt out by the state? Is body mutilation something the state should be doing in this period of time? To me I think this should not happen, please post what ever your thoughts are.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well im all for hard labour(pay for being held in prison) and better rehabilitation..i dont condone violence in any form,that includes on people who commited violent acts.But thats the way i think,Iran has a completely different culture,so yes i think its wrong,but not everything is black and white,your wrong im right...

Its absolutely barbaric. Its because of this kind of marriage of ancient religious customs and law that the man blinded the woman's eyes to begin with. There are no words to explain how horrified I am that in the year 2008 AD, this still is occurring. All state and religion in every country in this world must be separate with a strong constitution protecting the people, enforcing equality for all people, including between the sexes. Then, it will still take enormous time for a new generation to emerge that loses the traditions of the older one. This is simply unimaginable.

reply to post by mystiq


Mystiq
I think you got it absolutely right! Every thing you said I think says it all. It is the ancient ways that caused this problem in the first place so things need to be changed from there.
It is unfortunate that no matter how much talking you and I do, I don't ever really see it happening.

That punishment seems fair to me - to answer the question of whether the state should deal out the type of thing I think in this case it shows a bit more thought has gone into the punishment - rather than arbitrarily following guidelines, some completely ridiculous sentences and compensation payouts have been given in this country, an eye for an eye is both punishment AND deterrent.

Already a thread for this.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Have you ever even considered the possibility that prison is the more inhumane punishment?

This case is a perfect example.

A person blinds someone out of malice. Now the victim is blind but still alive and still able to have as normal a life as someone who was born blind. Right?

So why is it more humane to put the perpetrator behind bars and thereby deny them years of their life and years of life's lessons? You are taking away from the perpetrator the one thing we all have a limited amount of - time. The truth is that any prison sentence is at least a partial life sentence and at worst a full life sentence (if you die in prison.)

You are endorsing taking away life from a person instead of their sight because that is all you know of justice. What if it isn't justice and you have been lied to all these years?

Why not just blind the man? He learns a very valuable lesson, justice is meted out, and he can continue to live his life for as long as god or nature intended.

His life will serve as a warning to everyone he comes in contact with over the years. Unfortunately, the prisoner is "out of sight out of mind" and so is any morality the public could have learned from his punishment.

An eye for an eye is the only valid human code of criminal justice because anything else isn't our right to decide.

Jon

[edit on 11.28.2008 by Voxel]

reply to post by Voxel


I agree there is something in my gut that says there is justice being done here. The man has been put in the same position as her, thereby bringing him closer to the understanding of what he did to her. I think this will bring him closer to the true comprehension if his acts. It will be hard for him to justify what he did to her, cause then what is done to him is justified.

reply to post by Voxel


I liked your reply, and I'd like to add that prison can be an academy of crime and hate for some - this case seems to a crime of passion, that person could be very influenced by the more 'professional' criminals - plenty of time to learn inside,


On a totally unrelated issue I love this avater!


Would you mind awfully If I put a wee small version on the end of my siggy?? I just saw the story on the Ozzy dude and his bill classic - they stiffed him and returned the wrong spider!

Edit - I just went ahead and used it ▼▼▼ thank you!

[edit on 28/11/2008 by Now_Then]

Originally posted by mystiq
Its absolutely barbaric. Its because of this kind of marriage of ancient religious customs and law that the man blinded the woman's eyes to begin with. There are no words to explain how horrified I am that in the year 2008 AD, this still is occurring. All state and religion in every country in this world must be separate with a strong constitution protecting the people, enforcing equality for all people, including between the sexes. Then, it will still take enormous time for a new generation to emerge that loses the traditions of the older one. This is simply unimaginable.

That is a very unfair statement, you cannot blame their religious customs for this crime. The crime rate in Iran is much lower than that in the USA where their are very few if any religious customs used to sentence people.

If you steal your hand is cut off, if you murder then you are executed, if you blind someone then you are blinded. How likely would you be to commit a crime if you lived in a society like this?

If anything I admire their justice system.

It is worth noting that I would not wish these punishments on anyone, I just think that it is a fair system.

[edit on 28-11-2008 by centrifugal]

Their religious customs are 100% completely related to the crime and the punishment, they are barbaric, and trapped hundreds, or even, thousands of years in the past in a religion that controls people and metes out punishment in a similar way as the old testament, an eye for an eye. Its sexist and the lack of division between Church and State is the problem. You won't find that crime happening in Norway. Why? Sharia law. As to their religion? There are moderate forms of it that could be practiced. Modern day Christians don't stone people to death. I wonder why? And the State, the government, the laws need to be SECULAR, non religious, human rights based.

So far, I'm astounded at the respondents views being expressed here. This world is in so much trouble.

reply to post by centrifugal


I think religious customs, at least in part, can be blamed for this. The reason why is in the video below. It is not exactly what happened in this case but it goes to show what the society is like.

I am not arguing against muslim faith, but against fundamentalism and a mind set that has not advanced in understanding of human rights, and the need for secular laws.

[edit on 11/28/2008 by semperfortis]

Originally posted by centrifugal
That is a very unfair statement, you cannot blame their religious customs for this crime.

They weren't. They were saying that since Iran's laws are based in Islamic Shariah law, which gives women a much lower status than that of men, that crimes such as acid attacks are more common. If women were to gain equality in more areas, attacks of this nature (and others) would not be such a problem.

I do not blame Shariah law for crimes against women, but I do blame it for the higher incidences and types of attacks visited apon women.

The crime rate in Iran is much lower than that in the USA where their are very few if any religious customs used to sentence people.

Do you have accurate crime statistics for Iran? I am very sceptical of any reports I have seen because I am somewhat acquainted with Shariah law (and Islam) and I know (for example) that if a woman is raped then SHE must bring forth 4 male witnesses to PROVE it, or the equivalent of female witnesses (since the testimony of a woman is equal to that of 1/2 a man) and IF she cannot do this, then SHE is punished for adultery (stoning to death).

Makes you question the statistics on rape right there, eh? Not to mention other crimes....

If you steal your hand is cut off

hand and foot cut off (on opposite sides)

, if you murder then you are executed,

Unless you can afford the blood money (price dependent on the religion and sex of the victim).

if you blind someone then you are blinded. How likely would you be to commit a crime if you lived in a society like this?

If your husband swears 4 times that you committed adultery then you are stoned to death.
If you are seen in public with an unrelated male then you get flogged/jailed,
If your husband takes another wife (even if she is 6 years old) then it is doubtful that you can attain a divorce because the courts are slanted towards the male position.
If you dare to go outside without a hijab (or an inadeqate one) then you face imprisonment/lashing.
If you report your university professor for sexual harrassment then YOU will be arrested.
If you leave Islam in Iran you face death (men) or life imprisonment (women).

I can go on! How many of these are punishable crimes in a society that recognises equality among the sexes and does not base their laws on religious doctrines?

If anything I admire their justice system.

.........

It is worth noting that I would not wish these punishments on anyone, I just think that it is a fair system.

..........

May I politely suggest you read up on what *other* things are considered crimes before declaring your admiration?

Also I am wondering how many people are okay with Shariah law because the bible also contains "an eye for an eye"?


ETA: Read this article (although she is wrong to claim 'incorrect interpretation of Islam' here) or this one.

[edit on 1/12/2008 by Hesperornis]

Where are the Ahmadinejad supporters on this one?

I want to hear their views. How he is so misunderstood, etc., ..