Exclusive | Danger of Implementing the Punishment of 'Blinding' for Protest Worker; Sina Yousefi, Lawyer: A Gross Violation of Human Rights

As Mohsen Mousavian, a protesting worker arrested during the nationwide protests of December 2017 in Shahr-e Kord, is on the verge of being subjected to the punishment of amputation, specifically the removal of an eye, a legal expert tells Voice of America that the Islamic Republic has included mutilation in its punishments to 'prove its establishment.' Sina Yousefi, a lawyer and human rights defender, stated on Thursday, January 25, regarding this ruling to the Persian section of Voice of America: 'The punishment of Qisas is a product of a vengeful era and remnants of primitive human tribes that have been rejected by the global community in the present age.' The Iran Human Rights Organization has warned about the possibility of 'implementing the punishment of blinding' for Mehdi Mousavian, a detained protester during the crackdown on nationwide protests in Shahr-e Kord, and has called for a global reaction to this ruling. This human rights organization also announced that the ruling issued by the lower court has been confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic and that the punishment of 'blinding the left eye' is set to be carried out in the coming days for Mehdi Mousavian in Shahr-e Kord. Sina Yousefi, regarding the punishment of amputation and Qisas in the laws of the Islamic Republic, told Voice of America: 'After the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, it seriously became part of Iran's criminal laws, and from the very beginning, many legal experts opposed it, but some clerics of that time deemed opponents of Qisas as apostates and considered opposition to it as a direct denial of the Quran.' According to this human rights lawyer, 'The Islamic Republic has engaged in such punishments from the very beginning to prove the establishment of the Islamic system in Iran, including hand amputation, finger amputation, and eye removal.' Yousefi emphasized that 'Islamic Republic officials defended the amputation punishment against criticisms and deemed human mutilation permissible and in accordance with human rights,' stressing that 'from the perspective of fundamental human rights principles, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the application of such punishments is a clear example of torture and a gross violation of human rights, and Iran, as a country that has accepted these principles, must be committed to them.' In a video released on social media, a civil activist sitting next to Mehdi Mousavian explains that this young man was condemned to the punishment of 'eye for an eye' without any confession, evidence, or proof and while being deprived of a chosen lawyer, solely based on the false testimony of agents. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, Mehdi Mousavian, from Farrokhshahr, was arrested on January 1, 2018, on the charge of 'throwing a stone at a police colonel.' Based on the accusation against this protesting worker, 'the stone hit the left eye of the officer and caused his blindness,' an accusation that Mehdi Mousavian denied in court. However, based on the ruling from a court session held on January 26, 2019, this protesting worker was found 'guilty,' and the plaintiff requested 'eye for an eye' or 'blood money.' Part of the court ruling for Mehdi Mousavian, the protesting worker condemned to blindness, states that 'the plaintiff demanded 14 billion tomans to withdraw from the eye punishment, but the family of Seyyed Mehdi Mousavian could not gather such an amount.' Amputation is one type of corporal punishment that the Islamic Republic continues to implement despite warnings from international human rights organizations. International human rights organizations have consistently criticized the implementation of these punishments, which, according to Amnesty International, constitutes a 'gross violation of human rights.' Warnings about the danger of implementing the punishment of blinding for this protesting worker have emerged ahead of the visit of Nada Al-Nashif, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, to Iran. Additionally, the Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran suppresses to remain in power, asserting that none of the political system's dimensions in the Islamic Republic of Iran are democratic or transparent, including the management, judicial, and electoral sectors. According to Vedant Patel, the world has been aware of this reality for some time.