Majid Mohavedi was to be punished for throwing acid in face of university student after she repeatedly turned down his marriage offers
Iran has postponed blinding a convicted man, his punishment for throwing acid in the face of a woman who spurned him.
Iranian media reports said Saturday's punishment of Majid Mohavedi had been postponed to an unknown date. The reports did not name any officials, and authorities have not released a statement about the matter.
A court sentenced Mohavedi in 2008 to be blinded in both eyes. It was his punishment for throwing acid in the face of university student Ameneh Bahrami four years earlier after she had repeatedly turned down his offers of marriage.
Bahrami was left blind and disfigured in the attack and has undergone extensive surgeries in Spain in an effort to reconstruct her face.
She also has been the main advocate behind Mohavedi's punishment, which is in accordance with Iran's Islamic law. So-called "eye-for-an-eye" retribution is allowed in cases where someone is convicted of causing intentional bodily harm.
Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Iran not to carry out the sentence, saying that regardless of how horrific the crime was, being blinded with acid is a "cruel and inhuman punishment, amounting to torture."
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
