Iran is expected to blind a man with acid next week to punish him for alleged crimes, according to a report by an Iranian opposition group.
"Mojtaba Saheli (Sabeqi), 31, who was previously blinded in his left eye by the regime, has been informed by prison officials that he is to be blinded in the right eye with acid next week in Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran," according to the report, published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also known as the MEK.
The man stands accused of having blinded another person in 2009.
"The regime’s court in Qom sentenced Mr. Saheli to be blinded in both eyes with acid, pay blood money and serve a 10-year prison term as part of the regime’s inhumane law of retribution (qisas)," according to their report.
The human rights organization Amnesty International has criticized Iran’s behavior in March statement issued after Saheli was blinded in his left eye.
"Punishing someone by deliberately blinding them is an unspeakably cruel and shocking act," Raha Bahreini, Amnesty International's Iran researcher, said in a statement.
"This punishment exposes the utter brutality of Iran’s justice system and underlines the Iranian authorities' shocking disregard for basic humanity," Bahreini said. "Meting out cruel and inhuman retribution punishments is not justice. Blinding, like stoning, amputation and flogging, is a form of corporal punishment prohibited by international law."