MADINA/DAMMAM: The Supreme Court in Riyadh has rejected the death penalty ruling of the Madina General Court in November last year against Lebanese magician Ali Hussein Sabat, 46, who is also known as the Scheherazade wizard. The Supreme Court returned the case to the Madina General Court and requested that the court appoint three judges to review the case and to come up with a different ruling. The Supreme Court said no one was harmed by the magician, he had no criminal record, and that the verdict was excessive. The Court of Cassation in Makkah had initially refused to approve the Madina court's death sentence and requested the court to ask the defendant to repent before a Shariah Committee. The Madina court refused to implement the decision saying it had the evidence and the confession of Sabat proving that he practiced sorcery and was guilty of infidelity and polytheism. The Cassation Court then approved the death penalty and referred it to the Supreme Court for final approval. The case was first filed against the sorcerer by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) which accused him of practicing sorcery for profit. Sabat was arrested about two years ago in a hotel at the Central Zone in Madina in possession of paper, medication and herbal items used for sorcery.
