Court upholds death sentence against sorcerer

By ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The General Court in Madinah upheld its verdict against 46-year-old accused Arab sorcerer Ali Hussein Subat (aka Shahrzad), saying he deserved death for publicly practicing black magic, thus spreading corruption on the earth.

The judges said they called for the execution of the man for his continuous practice of black magic and that he had been doing it publicly for several years before millions of viewers of a satellite channel.

In a statement on Wednesday, the court said it was not convinced by the appeal bench’s rejection of its verdict against the sorcerer and its attempt to ask the man to repent.

“All evidence proved that he was practicing black magic,” the court said.

The general court has now passed the case back to the Appeals Court in Makkah. It also seized the man’s cell phone, which he was carrying at the time of arrest.

The court insisted that the magician deserved death in order to make him an example and deterrent for others, especially for foreigners who come to the Kingdom to practice sorcery.

The appeals court rejected the general court’s first verdict on Dec. 8, 2009, saying it was a premature one and that the man should be asked to repent if he had really committed the crime. The appeals court also wanted to make sure that all allegations made against the defendant were genuine.

The magician was arrested at a hotel in Madinah two years ago. Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice seized a talisman where he had written the name of a man, his mother and wife.

Shahrzad acknowledged in front of the general court in Madinah that he had presented a black magic program on the Saudi Sports Channel. However, he claimed that he was practicing black magic during the past eight years in order to treat patients. He also admitted that he had called for the assistance of Satan, Jinn and talisman for his purpose.

Comments

SNOOPIES622

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Stories like this are why I read Arab News.

RABIUL HAQUE

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Well it is deserving punishment for the sorcorer, what about other Indian specially kerala sorcerors who practice black magic and make their kafeel an obedient servant and takes control of saudi kafeel's business or saudi boss and gets promoted as boss / managers /directors in various departments / places in Riyadh.
My request to religious police is to track these kerala sorcerors and bring them to punishment

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME

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Stories like this are why those of us in the West think that Arabs are still living in the dark ages. It is right up the with marrying off 10 year old girls to 80 year old men.

MUKHTAR NISAR SHEIKH

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The honorable court is right in it's decision. People, who, by dint of their own pereception as being someone capable of bringing about changes in the lives of other people by means of their black powers, are actually ruin'ers of Lifes and society as a whole. Such people need to be acted against before they become a scourge for the society.

ASEM MOHAMMED MANSOOR

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This guy deserves the death penalty as it will make him become an example and also a deterrent to those who which to seek the path that he has taken. I ask Allah Almighty with his great strength and ability to preserve The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. Ameen
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