Saudi Arabian 'Witch' to be Put to Death

In Saudi Arabia, an illiterate woman accused of being a witch is scheduled to be executed. Beheaded, to be specific. One of the claims against her? She caused a man to be impotent.

BBC News reports she was "allegedly beaten and forced to fingerprint a confession that she could not read."

Human Rights Watch has asked King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to halt her execution. The group details the circumstances of her situation:

The religious police who arrested and interrogated Fawza Falih and the judges who tried her in the northern town of Quraiyat never gave her the opportunity to prove her innocence against absurd charges that have no basis in law....

The judges 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....

Saudi Arabia does not have a written penal code, and “witchcraft” is not a defined crime.

As About.com's Pierre Tristam points out, "Saudi Arabia beheaded 137 people last year and has beheaded 28 already this year." And he notes that the man's impotence claim is "an odd charge, considering that Saudi Arabia's television ads for Viagra are a fantastic success."

World opinion has caused Saudi Arabia to step down from harsh punishment of women before. With Human Rights Watch and other groups such as the Assembly of World Religious Leaders speaking out and spreading the word about Fawza Falih, let's hope the same thing will happen here.

Related articles:

• Ethnocentrism, Oppression of Women and American Opinion
• Saudi Arabia: Beheadings, Riots and Inmates' MTV
• A Tale of Two Rapes