Acid attack on a young woman by her husband in Tehran
On Monday, September 7, a young woman in Tehran was thrown at with acid by her husband and taken to the hospital. Acid is one of the few products that has never been in the market in the country. In addition to the ease of access and supply of acid in Iranian markets, the lack of adequate preventive laws has also confirmed the persistence of the crime known as “acid throwing.”
According to HRANA news agency, citing Rokna, on Monday morning, September 8, 2020, a young woman was attacked with acid near Boroujerdi Square in the Piroozi district of Tehran.
After the young woman was transferred to the hospital, officers from the Tehran Police Department launched a special investigation and, in the first step, discovered that the 33-year-old woman Fariba had been the target of acid attacks by her husband.
Fariba, who could barely speak, told the officers from the hospital bed: "I have a law degree and am a legal employee of a company. A few years ago, I met Soheil and we got married. We both had good, well-paying jobs. We lived a contented and peaceful life until my husband started using drugs in his leisure activities. I realized this when my husband was addicted and peace was gone from our lives. Soheil would fight and beat me over every issue."
The acid attack victim continued: "I tried several times to get Soheil to quit his addiction and rebuild our lives, but every time he would go back to it after quitting drugs, until I decided to break up with him. I thought that Soheil would give up his addiction when he found out about it, but it was useless and Soheil threatened me."
The young woman said: "I had already made my decision and went to court and filed for divorce, and that's when Soheil's threats began, saying that if I didn't withdraw the divorce petition, he would ruin my life. Until the day of the incident, when I left the house to go to work, Soheil, who was hiding behind a car, suddenly blocked my path in a quiet alley and, without saying a word, he poured the liquid from the bottle on me."
According to this report, investigator Ehsan Zamani, judge of Branch 6 of the Tehran Criminal Affairs Prosecutor's Office, ordered a team of officers from Tehran's 16th Police Department to take action to arrest the perpetrator of this horrific acid attack, and additional investigations are ongoing.
Acid is one of the few products whose market has never waned in the country. In addition to the ease of access and supply of acid in Iranian markets, the lack of adequate preventive laws has also contributed to the persistence of the crime known as “acid throwing.”
Although a law was passed in 1955 to punish the crime of acid throwing, and in addition, the general provisions of the Islamic Penal Code can be used to criminalize this inhumane act, evidence and circumstantial evidence indicate the ineffectiveness of existing laws in preventing it.
In late May 2019, five of the seven articles of the plan to increase punishment for acid attacks and support victims were approved by the representatives in a public session of the parliament.
After amendments were made to the articles of this bill, on October 11, 2019, representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly reviewed and amended the bill to increase punishment for acid attacks and support victims of acid attacks, which had been returned from the Guardian Council, in a public session.
In November 2019, after being approved by the Guardian Council, this law was notified to the Ministry of Justice for implementation.
Source: HRANA
