Mareeh bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri executed for 'witchcraft' in Saudi Arabia

A man has been executed for practising witchcraft and committing adultery.

The interior ministry accused Mareeh bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri of practising "witchcraft and sorcery" and said he was "in possession of books and talismans from which he learnt to harm God's worshippers". The ministry added that Asiri had also admitted to adultery with two women.

Last year, Saudi Arabia – whose judges follow the Wahabi school of Islam and decide cases without reference to a written penal code – beheaded a man and a woman for witchcraft. Amnesty International says at least 82 people were executed in the kingdom last year.