Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to
stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for "sorcery."
In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group
condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain
Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a
Beirut based satellite TV channel.
According to his lawyer,
Sibat, who is 48 and has five children, would predict the future on his
show and give out advice to his audience.
The attorney, May El
Khansa, who is in Lebanon, tells CNN her client was arrested by Saudi
Arabia's religious police (known as the Mutawa'een) and charged with
sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi
Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.
Sibat
was then put on trial. In November 2009, a court in the Saudi city of
Medina found Sibat guilty and sentenced him to death.
According
to El Khansa, Sibat appealed the verdict. The case was taken up by the
Court of Appeal in the Saudi city of Mecca on the grounds that the
initial verdict was "premature."
El Khansa tells CNN that the
Mecca appeals court then sent the case back to the original court for
reconsideration, stipulating that all charges made against Sibat needed
to be verified and that he should be given a chance to repent.
On
March 10, judges in Medina upheld their initial verdict, meaning Sibat
is once again sentenced to be executed.
"The Medina court refused
the sentence of the appeals court," said El Khansa, adding her client
will appeal the verdict once more.
The case has been covered
extensively by local media.
According to Arab News, an English language
Saudi daily newspaper, after the most recent verdict was issued, the
judges in Medina issued a statement expressing that Sibat deserved to be
executed for having continually practiced black magic on his show,
adding that this sentence would deter others from practicing sorcery.
Arab News reports that the case will now return to the appeals court in
Mecca.
CNN has not been able to reach Saudi
Arabia's Ministry of Justice for comment.