Maldives sees wave of arrests on sorcery charges
Three elderly men were arrested from two different islands on a charge of practicing black magic this week. Another four were arrested last week. The police claim to have found “tools for the practice of black magic” in their possession, but relatives of some of the suspects said police had only confiscated Arabic books.
28 Jan 2016, 9:00 AM
On Monday, several police officers stormed the home of a 66-year-old man in southern Gaaf Alif Atoll Villingili Island and confiscated several of his books. Hours later, he was arrested.
“They said he had been practicing black magic,” said his daughter, who was reluctant to give her name.
On the same day, another 61-year-old man from the same island was also arrested for practicing black magic.
The pair’s arrests comes amidst a wave of detentions of suspected black magic practitioners across the Maldives. The day before, a 69-year-old man was arrested from the island of Dhiyamigili in south-central Thaa Atoll.
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