Great Moments In Sharia Law: Punish Man By Damaging His Spine

In Saudi Arabia, they take the idea of "an eye for an eye" very seriously:

A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals in the country whether they could damage a man's spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, the brother of the victim said Thursday.


Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralyzed and subsequently lost a foot after a fight more than two years ago. He asked a judge in northwestern Tabuk province to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker under Islamic law, his brother Khaled al-Mutairi told The Associated Press by telephone from there.

To their credit, one of the hospitals refused outright to perform such an operation. The other hospital said that such an operation was possible, but would have to be done at a more specialized facility.

That, however, is apparently not going to stop the family of the paralyzed man, who are willing to have the man sent outside of the country in order to have the operation done.

This is not the first time this law has been followed in the 21st century: 2 years ago, Iran allowed something similar:

A man who blinded a woman in an acid attack after she spurned his marriage proposals has been sentenced to the same punishment, in a literal application of Iran's sharia eye-for-an-eye laws.

In a highly unusual judgment, Tehran province criminal court ordered Majid Movahedi, 27, to be blinded in both eyes from drops of acid in response to a plea from his victim, Ameneh Bahrami.

The punishment is legal under the sharia code of qisas, which allows retribution for violent crimes. The court also ordered Movahedi to pay compensation to the victim.

Also in Saudi Arabia, in 2005 a man had his teeth pulled out by a dentist because he had smashed another man's teeth in a fight.

Not surprisingly, trials in Saudi Arabia do not rank high when compared to the international standards:

Human rights group say trials in Saudi Arabia fall far below international standards. They usually take place behind closed doors and without adequate legal representation.

Those who are sentenced to death are often not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them or of the date of execution until the morning on which they are taken out and beheaded.

Crucifying the headless body in a public place is a way to set an example, according to the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam.

This from countries that lecture the West on international law.

Technorati Tag: Saudi Arabia and Lex Talionis and Sharia and Eye For An Eye.