CAIRO: A Saudi Arabia man was executed on Tuesday for reportedly practicing witchcraft in the country and committing adultery, the interior ministry was quoted by the state news agency as saying. “Mareeh bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri (Saudi national) practised witchcraft and sorcery, and was in possession of books and talismans from which he learnt to harm God's worshippers and admitted adultery with two women,” said the statement. He was put to death in Najran Province near Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen, Saudi Press Agency reported. Last year, the world's top oil exporter, beheaded a man and a woman for witchcraft in two separate cases. The executions sparked massive international outrage and condemnation over the ultra-conservative country's use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes. Amnesty International said at least 82 people were executed in Saudi Arabia last year, many of them by public beheading. This year, at least 30 people have been reportedly executed, making it one of the top countries in the world that uses the death penalty.
