Witchcraft and the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia
Leo Igwe
Leo Igwe
Ethical Technology
Posted: May 11, 2012
Recently, a Sri Lankan woman was arrested by Saudi authorities for witchcraft. A man accused this woman of casting a spell on a 13 year old girl during a family shopping trip. He complained to the police that the girl ‘started acting in an abnormal way’ after a close contact with the woman in a shopping mall in the port city of Jeddah. According to news reports, the accused woman is currently in police custody in Saudi Arabia. If pressure is not brought on Saudi authorities to spare the life of this ‘innocent’ woman, she may be executed by beheading any moment from now.
In Saudi Arabia, witchcraft is a crime punishable by death. Last year, Saudi authorities beheaded two people, a Sudanese man and a Saudi woman, for practicing witchcraft. It is not clear how the judicial system in the country defines the crime of witchcraft or justifies it as a harmful practice punishable by death. It is difficult to understand how Saudi courts try and convict people for witchcraft offense.
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/5773