Amnesty International has urged Saudi authorities to stop any attempt to medically paralyze a man as a judicial punishment

A Saudi judge is reported to have asked hospitals if it is possible to cut the spinal cord of the man, found guilty of paralyzing another man in a fight. Amnesty said intentionally paralyzing someone would constitute torture. Under Islamic law in Saudi Arabia, retribution sentences can include eye-gouging and, for murder, beheading. The human rights group quoted reports that a court in the north-western town of Tabuk had approached a number of hospitals inquiring about a spinal operation. The man in question has already been sentenced to seven months' imprisonment for the of fence, which happened more than two years ago, Amnesty said. The brother of the victim said that the injuries had been caused in a fight involving a meat cleaver. He said his brother, who was left paralyzed and later lost a foot, had asked a judge in Tabuk to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker under Islamic law.