Blind justice: Iranian man's eye gouged out as punishment for acid attack

In a literal application of the sharia law of an eye for an eye, an Iranian man convicted of blinding another in an acid attack has himself had an eye gouged out, marking the first time Iran has carried out such punishment.

The convicted acid attacker, who has not been identified, was rendered unconscious in Rajaishahr prison in the city of Karaj on Tuesday as medics pulled out his left eye, according to the state-owned Hamshahri newspaper.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam from Iran Human Rights (IHR), an independent NGO based in Norway, condemned the blinding as barbaric. "Medical staff who cooperate with the Iranian authorities in this act have broken the Hippocratic oath and cannot call themselves doctors," he said.

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. He was subsequently sentenced to be blinded in both eyes, paying a fine and 10 years imprisonment.

Although the convict was sentenced to lose sight in both eyes on Tuesday, the victim - who, under Iranian law, has the final say in the punishment - decided at the last minute to postpone the blinding of his right eye for another six months.

During this period, the attacker will be able to plead with the plaintiff to spare him from being blinded fully.

Acid attacks have been rife 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 gains or whether he was related to the wife's family.