Saudi Arabia to execute woman for 'witchcraft' ("One man claimed she had made him impotent.")

The Belfast Telegraph ^ | February 14, 2008

[Stoat]

Saudi Arabia to execute woman for 'witchcraft'

 

Thursday, February 14, 2008

A leading international human rights organisation is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to halt the planned execution of a woman accused of "witchcraft".

The woman is due to be put to death on foot of a coerced confession and the statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them.

One man claimed she had made him impotent. In another case, a divorced woman reportedly returned to her ex-husband during the month predicted by the witch said to have cast the spell. The court failed to probe alternative explanations for these incidents.

Human Rights Watch has described the charges against her as "absurd" and says they have no basis in law.

"The fact that Saudi judges still conduct trials for unprovable crimes like 'witchcraft' underscores their inability to carry out objective criminal investigations," said Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

"Fawza Falih's case is an example of how the authorities failed to comply even with existing safeguards in the Saudi justice system," he added.

The judges are said to have relied on Fawza Falih's coerced confession and on the statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them to convict her in April 2006.

Falih retracted her confession in court, claiming it was extracted under duress. She said that as an illiterate woman she did not understand the document she was forced to fingerprint.

She also stated in her appeal that her interrogators beat her during her 35 days in detention at the hands.

In November of last year Saudi Arabia executed pharmacist Mustafa Ibrahim for sorcery in Riyadh. Clerics of Saudi Arabia's austere form of Islam, known as Wahhabism, take accusations of sorcery seriously and recently held a conference in Riyadh on how to combat it.

[Stoat]

More on this:

BBC NEWS Middle East Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

AFP Rights group urges Saudi king to spare woman convicted of 'witchcraft'

More witchcraft news:

'Witch hitman' jailed for life (South Africa)

(Nigerian) MD Loses N$9m To ‘Witches And Wizards’

Africa Nigerian lynched for witchcraft

Kenya Witchcraft stuff found in school (Also, mysterious stones fall from the sky)

Men avenged 'witchcraft' murder (South Africa)

South Africa Mob stones father at grave (Witchcraft blamed)

Zimbabwe's Harry Potter (After 107 year ban, Mugabe legalizes witchcraft and wizardry)

Zim Bogus traditional healer held (Told woman to hire mermaids, use bull 'privates' to find car)

[DigitalVideoDude]

Sir Bedevere: What makes you think she’s a witch?

Peasant 3: Well, she turned me into a newt!

Sir Bedevere: A newt?

Peasant 3: [meekly after a long pause] ... I got better.

Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!

[camle]

helen thomas will do that to ya

[RC2]

Whatever they do over there, they have been doing for thousands of years. Why is it that all of a sudden we have to be so concerned about it? It’s their business, not ours, as long as they keep it over there. When they start importing it to our country, then we need to put a stop to it.....here. The more we get involved with their business, the less we pay attention to our own country. Maybe that is what people want us to do.....personally, I don’t care what they do in Saudi Arabia.

[purpleraine]

I think my husband’s sister, did that to her husband.

[freepertoo]

I do. I feel very, very sorry for this woman.

[hometoroost]

You kill weeds at the root or else they grow back. They won’t stop at their borders but will work to export thier “faith” across the globe. It’s what they do, it’s who they are, and if we don’t drag them out of the 12th century they’ll drag us back into it.

[WakeUpAndVote]

Sure will!

[Hoodat]

[Polonius]

Saudi Arabia, where the legal standards of the Dark Ages live on. Is there any reason the Saudi authorities should be regarded as anything but a pack of corrupt, ignorant, bloodthirsty savages? Didn’t think so.

[NRA1995]

Next time any of you are tempted to make jokes about Catholic priests, remember this story.

[Graybeard58]

[Diamond]

It's Witchcraft...

[joe fonebone]

and what else do we burn besides witches? MORE WITCHES!!!!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Musim logic is about the same as Monty Python. Witches are made of wood. Wood floats. So does a duck. Therefore if she weighs the same as a duck, she’s a witch. And if she doesn’t confess, beat it out of her!

[agere_contra]

Why is it that all of a sudden we have to be so concerned about it?

Because Islamic oil revenues and demographics are exporting this kind of nonsense into your neighbourhood.

News that depicts the true nature of the demented death cult that is Islam is (IMO) of the highest priority.

[x_plus_one]

When they start importing it to our country, then we need to put a stop to it..

They're here.....

[phil1750]

One man claimed she had made him impotent.

How many thousands of men has helen thomas made impotent just by her photograph?

[Stoat]

Saudi Arabia, where the legal standards of the Dark Ages live on. Is there any reason the Saudi authorities should be regarded as anything but a pack of corrupt, ignorant, bloodthirsty savages? Didn’t think so.

It makes absolutely no difference to me how many lavish, grandiose tourist attractions they build there.  I will never, ever give them one dime of my vacation dollars and I'll do what little I can to help us work toward the day when our civilized nation no longer buys their oil.

These are indeed savages, and they deserve only our utter contempt.

[muawiyah]

To hold "witchcraft" to be a crime, you must first believe in "witchraft".

And here I thought Saudi Arabia was firmly in the hands of Moslems and not just "the Hypocrites".

Guess they'll have to start killing each other over this to regain their "purity".

Bwahahahahahahaha!