The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) arrested on Thursday a man on charges of “practicing magic.” The man, who had been “under surveillance for some time”, was found in the possession of “books on magic, prayer beads and talismans” when his house was raided. Officials said that the individual charged large sums of money for his services. He was later handed over to police for investigation. Authorities have arrested since the beginning of the year 12 persons on charges of practicing magic in the region of Madina, with approximately 200 individuals charged with similar offenses over the last three years. In Makkah on Wednesday, the Hai'a detained a 40-year-old woman for “magic and swindling” and “conning people out of money.” The woman, who reportedly claimed powers to bring “harmony to married couples,” was exposed by an undercover official after she asked him for personal photographs of himself and his wife and began to “do her work with the photographs” in low lighting. She was arrested in the act at her home in the Al-Mansour district of the city and taken away by police.
