That Old Black Magic

Saudi Arabia's religious police are stepping up their efforts to find and punish witches. An article in the Los Angeles Times reports that anyone who acts oddly may be accused of witchcraft. Among those who've been convicted is Muhammad Burhan. Officials believed that a phone booklet he carried, with writings in the Tigranya alphabet from his native Eritrea, was a sign of witchcraft. He was lashed 300 times and spent more than 40 months in prison before being deported.