BEIRUT — The lawyer of a Lebanese TV psychic who was convicted in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft says her client could be beheaded this week.
Attorney May al-Khansa says she learned from an unofficial source that Ali Sibat is to be beheaded on Friday. She says she hasn’t had any official confirmation on this. Al-Khansa said on Thursday she has called upon Saudi King Abdullah to absolve Sibat, a 49-year-old father of five. She also says she is in contact with Lebanese officials over the case. Sibat made predictions on an Arab satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut. He was arrested by the Saudi religious police during his pilgrimage to the holy city of Medina in May 2008. The Saudi justice system is based Islamic law. It does not clearly define the charge of witchcraft.