Ameneh Bahrami
Encyclopedia
Ameneh Bahrami is an Iran
ian woman blinded in an acid attack. She became the focus of international controversy after demanding that her attacker, Majid Movahedi, be punished by being similarly blinded. The punishment is permitted under the Qisas
principle of sharia
law.
Tehran
's deputy public prosecutor, Mahmoud Salarkia, defended the punishment
. "If this sentence is properly publicized in the media, it will stop the repetition of such incidents," he said. "Awareness of the punishment has a huge deterrent effect in stopping social crimes." However, human rights advocates strongly criticized the punishment.
The punishment was due to be carried out on April 15, 2009, Movahedi's appeal was rejected by the court, although the blinding did not take place that year.
A new punishment date of May 14, 2011 was revealed, but again the punishment was not done, and was postponed indefinitely. On July 31, 2011, Ameneh forgave and pardoned her attacker, stating that she did so for her country.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian woman blinded in an acid attack. She became the focus of international controversy after demanding that her attacker, Majid Movahedi, be punished by being similarly blinded. The punishment is permitted under the Qisas
Qisas
Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation," and follows the principle of an eye for an eye, or lex talionis, first set forth by Hammurabi, and subsequently included in the Old Testament and later legal codes...
principle of sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law.
Attack
After Bahrami rejected the romantic advances of Movahedi, a fellow student at the University of Tehran, he threw a bucket of acid in her face in October 2004. She subsequently underwent 17 surgeries in Spain, but remains badly disfigured and blind in both eyes. The Iranian government has paid £22,500 towards her treatment.Trial and response
Bahrami testified against Movahedi at his trial. She informed the court that she desired "to inflict the same life on him that he inflicted on me". She requested that twenty drops of acid be dropped in his eyes.Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
's deputy public prosecutor, Mahmoud Salarkia, defended the punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
. "If this sentence is properly publicized in the media, it will stop the repetition of such incidents," he said. "Awareness of the punishment has a huge deterrent effect in stopping social crimes." However, human rights advocates strongly criticized the punishment.
The punishment was due to be carried out on April 15, 2009, Movahedi's appeal was rejected by the court, although the blinding did not take place that year.
A new punishment date of May 14, 2011 was revealed, but again the punishment was not done, and was postponed indefinitely. On July 31, 2011, Ameneh forgave and pardoned her attacker, stating that she did so for her country.
See also
- Human rights in the Middle EastHuman Rights in the Middle EastHuman rights in the Middle East are mostly covered in individual articles, listed below. -United States and European points of view on political rights:...
- Human rights in IranHuman rights in the Islamic Republic of IranThe state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers, and NGOs. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.The...
- ShariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...