Death of a child at the hands of a Ruqya practitioner for treatment of witchcraft.
Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special
**Ibb ((Arabian Sea)) Special:** A minor boy died from severe injuries sustained during a "Sharia incantation" session in a house in the city of Ibb, in central Yemen, in a new incident that highlights the increasing violations committed by unlicensed treatment centers that practice charlatanism and quackery under the guise of religion, amid an almost complete absence of oversight from the competent authorities. Local sources reported that the boy, "Ali Muhammad Al Qasim" (17 years old), died after being severely beaten and strangled by a man claiming to treat with the Quran, named "Nabil. H.," who claimed that he was treating the victim from "witchcraft and jinn possession." The sources indicated that the session the boy underwent was violent and inhumane, during which he was tied up and brutally beaten under the pretext of expelling the "possessing jinn," which led to him losing consciousness and then dying later. The incident sparked widespread outrage among the residents, who expressed their concern about the increasing number of incantation clinics that operate outside the medical and legal frameworks, and exploit the suffering of citizens to extort them materially and psychologically, in light of the de facto authorities' failure to take deterrent measures against these centers. The incident brought back to mind a series of similar incidents that Ibb Governorate has witnessed in recent years, which ended with the death of a number of citizens, including women and young people, during treatment sessions carried out by "incanters" who claim their ability to treat witchcraft and possession. In November 2020, the citizen "Issa Mansour Ali Mahdi" died after being severely tortured by two incanters, namely "Saleh A.M." and "Akram M.Z.," where he was beaten and strangled under the pretext of "expelling the jinn," before he died days after the incident. In a similar incident, a young girl named "M. A. A.," who was a new bride, died inside an incantation clinic on Taiz Street in Ibb, after she was forced to drink a "folk mixture" inside a water bottle, despite informing the clinic staff that she was suffering from severe pain and complications. According to witnesses, the healer ignored her pleas, which caused her death. Also, in June of the same year, the young man "Osama Yahya Al-Houshabi" died immediately after being electrocuted during a treatment session with an incanter named "Arafat. J" in the city of Al-Nadirah, east of Ibb, under the pretext of expelling the jinn using electricity. The "incantation sessions" that some incanters claim are religious, include violent and unscientific practices, including severe beatings, strangulation, and electrocution, in addition to forcing patients to take herbal mixtures or liquids that they claim are "recited over," without any medical supervision or health control. Specialists warn of the danger of these practices, which have nothing to do with medicine or Islamic law, and some describe them as "systematic torture" practiced in the name of religion, in light of a legislative and regulatory vacuum that allows these people to continue their activities without accountability. Despite the recurrence of fatal incidents related to what is known as "Sharia incantation," the local authorities in Ibb continue to ignore the growth of this phenomenon, and no real moves have been recorded to close unlicensed centers or hold those involved in violations accountable.
