SAUDI ARABIA: ON DEATH ROW FOR SORCERY, MAID SPARED BY KING

Ati Bt Abeh Inan, an Indonesian housemaid on death row for sorcery, was released and sent back to Indonesia, after being pardoned by King Abdullah. The maid had been working for a Saudi family in Al-Ahsa since 2003. She has been languishing in Al-Ahsa jail “for casting a magic spell on her employer and his family.” Her case was complex one because “her employer himself accused her of using black magic and allegedly forced her to admit the allegation,” said Ahrul Tsani Fathurrahman, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy. She was then sentenced by Al-Ahsa General Court in 2003 by her admission of the allegation.