An Iranian woman who was disfigured and blinded in an acid attack has pardoned her attacker only hours before he was due to be blinded in punishment.
Majid Movahedi was convicted of throwing acid in the face of Ameneh Bahrami in 2004 after she repeatedly rejected his marriage proposals.
Ms Bahrami has now told the Isna news agency that although God talks about retribution, he also says pardoning a wrongdoer is more important.
Isna quoted her as saying:
''I struggled for seven years with this verdict to prove to people that the person who hurls acid should be punished through 'qisas', but today I pardoned him because it was my right.''
The BBC reports Ms Bahrami is now seeking compensation of 150,000 euros ($US216,000).
