Sana’a: A religious ‘healing wizard’ was shot dead in Yemen’s western province of Hodeida on Saturday by the husband of the woman he was supposedly treating.The man was bringing his wife to see the ‘wizard’ to treat her for ‘demonic possession’ but later discovered the man was raping his ill wife.
The enraged husband shot the ‘wizard’ with seven bullets before fleeing the scene, but was later arrested en route to the capital. Despite many instances of malpractice, religious healing centres are prevalent across Yemen, where people, mostly men, say they have the ability to treat diseases through Quranic recitation.
Many patients die or become permanently disabled when harsh physical actions are used by therapists in addition to recitations. Last year, police arrested a ‘wizard’ after killing a patient by stomping on her neck in order to ‘exorcise the demon from her body’.
