Tehran Court Sentences a Man to Blindness

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran - On November 28, the Tehran province criminal court ordered Majid Movahedi, 27, to be blinded in both eyes from drops of acid. Movahedi is also ordered to pay compensation to his victim. In October 2004, Movahedi threw a jar of acid on Ameneh Bahrami’s face as she walked home in a crowded neighborhood in Tehran. During her walk home she felt someone was following her. Movahedi stepped in front of her, threw acid in her face, and left her screaming in pain.

The acid left Bahrami terribly disfigured. In addition, she lost one eye completely and is blind in the other. Since the incident, the Iranian government has paid £22,500 towards her surgeries, some of which have taken place in Spain. Bahrami has had 17 operations in an attempt to reconstruct her face. Efforts to restore her sight have been unsuccessful. 

Bahrami was an electronics graduate working for a medical engineering company before the attack. Movahedi and Bahrami knew each other while university students. Movahedi hoped to marry Bahrami. Movahedi’s family asked Bahrami to marry Majid several times.

Movahedi testified to the court that he decided to attack Bahrami after she told him she had married someone else. Mavahedi explained Bahrami refused his proposals for marriage and he thought she “could be his forever” if he disfigured her. Bahrami reported Movahedi to the police several times after being harassed and receiving death threats. However, no police action was taken.

Bahrami testified during Movahedi's trial, stating she wanted "To inflict the same life on him that he inflicted on me.” When the judge asked if she wanted Movahedi's face to be splashed with acid, she explained, "That is impossible and horrific. Just drip 20 drops of acid in his eyes so he can realize what pain I am undergoing."

The court’s sentence is legal under the Islamic Sharia Code of Qias. The Code allows retribution for violent crimes.

Movahedi stated that despite Bahrami’s injuries, he would still marry her. Since the attack, Bahrami has felt a constant state of danger.

Mahmoud Salarkia, Tehran's Deputy Public Prosecutor, hopes the publicity coverage of this case will deter future acid attacks. He believes public awareness of the punishment will prevent others from following Movahedi’s actions. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Court Orders Iranian Man Blinded - 28 November 2008

The Guardian - Eye for an Eye: Iranian Man Sentenced to be Blinded for Acid Attack - 28 November 2008

Iran Human Rights - One Man Is Sentenced To "Blindness in Both Eyes" By a Court in the Iranian Capital Tehran - 27 November 2008

Iran Student Correspondent Association - One Man is Sentenced to be Blind in Both Eyes in a Court in Tehran - 27 November 2008