Iran to gouge out man's eye under literal interpretation of Sharia law

The 28-year-old man, identified only as Saman, is due to be blinded after 'accidentally blinding another man with a metal rod'

Iran uses a strict interpretation of sharia law (Getty Images)

The Iranian Supreme Court has sentenced a man to have his eye gouged out after blinding another man in a street fight.

The 28-year-old, identified only as Saman, was convicted under Iran’s strict retribution laws after fighting in the street with his then 25-year-old victim when he was 23.

According to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO, Saman claimed he had unintentionally blinded the man with a metal rod.

It is currently unknown when the sentence is due to be carried out.


 Iran executes the second highest number of people in the world after China. Chart: Statista

Iran, which is a theocracy ultimately controlled by a group of religious clerics, uses a strict interpretation of sharia law of “an eye for eye”.

Last year, a man convicted of attacking another man with acid - blinding and disfiguring him for life in the city of Qoms - was sedated and had his left eye gouged out.

The victim - who has the ultimate say over whether the sentence will be carried out - decided to suspend his sentences for both eyes to be removed for six months.

He was also forced to pay a fine and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Since coming to power as a supposed moderate in 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has presided over the execution of more than 1,800 people as well as public beatings, floggings and amputations.

In 2014, a Christian man was sentenced to having his lips burnt off with a cigarette for eating during daylight hours in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In June last year, authorities at the Central Prison in Mashhad, Khorasan Province, amputated four fingers from the right hands of two men sentenced for theft without anaesthetic, Amnesty International reports.

Despite reaching a deal to suspend its nuclear programme with six key Western nations - including the US - last year, Iran has shown no sign of giving more political or civil freedoms to its people.