eye for an eye, justice?
harsh or good justice?
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04...over-stabbing/
The Saudi government is sentencing a 24-year-old man to paralysis as retribution for stabbing his friend when the two were teens.
Ali al-Khawahir reportedly stabbed his friend in the back when he was 14-years-old, paralyzing the teen from the waist down.
In return, his victim wants one million Saudi riyals, the equivalent of $270,000, or retribution.
Amnesty International is outraged by the sentence: ”Paralyzing someone as punishment for a crime would be torture,” said Ann Harrison, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
“That such a punishment might be implemented is utterly shocking, even in a context where flogging is frequently imposed as a punishment for some offences, as happens in Saudi Arabia.”
I have been frightened to death whenever I think about my son’s fate and that he will have to be paralyzed
Although al-Khawahir’s mother says she feels sorry for the victim and that he deserves millions in compensation, it is not something they can afford.
“Ten years have passed with hundreds of sleepless nights. My hair has become grey at a young age because of my son’s problem,” she told the Saudi Gazette. “I have been frightened to death whenever I think about my son’s fate and that he will have to be paralyzed.”
Retribution sentences have included eye-gouging, tooth extraction and death for murder, according to Amnesty. If the paralysis sentencing is carried through, it would go against the UN Convention against Torture, which Saudi Arabia is a part of.
Quote
