RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 19 (UPI) -- A Lebanese television host sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court for alleged "sorcery" should not die, a human rights group says.
Amnesty International is urging Saudi Arabia's King Abdallah to halt the execution of Ali Hussain Sibat, CNN reported Thursday.
Sibat hosted a television program airing on a satellite channel based in Beirut where he would allegedly give advice to callers-in and predict the future. He was arrested by Saudi religious police and charged with sorcery in May 2008 while visiting the country to perform Umra, the Islamic religious pilgrimage.
After a November 2009 trial in the Saudi city of Medina, Sibat was found guilty and sentenced to death, but his attorney, May El Khansa, appealed the verdict, saying the verdict was "premature" and Sibat should be given a chance to "repent."
After the appeals court sent the case back down to the original court for reconsideration, Sibat's original sentence was upheld on March 10, 2009, CNN said.
A statement issued by the court said Sibat deserved to be executed for continually practicing black magic on his show, adding this sentence would deter others from practicing sorcery.
