Indonesian 'shaman' executed for killing 42 women
Saturday, July 12, 2008
INDONESIA has executed a man sentenced to death a decade ago for murdering 42 women in "black magic" rituals, despite a call from international human rights group to halt the execution, officials said yesterday. The self-proclaimed shaman Ahmad Suradji, 59, was executed by a firing squad in an open field in Deli Serdang district, about 40 kilometres outside the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan on Thursday night, said B Nainggolan, spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General's Office.
"The execution was carried out shortly before 10pm on Thursday," Nainggolan said, adding that Suradji's body was immediately brought to Deli Serdang's public hospital for an autopsy, before handed over to his family for burial.
He said before being executed Suradji had been granted all of his rights, including a chance to meet with his wife and other close relatives. Suradji was sentenced to death in 1998 after police found the women's bodies buried in a sugar cane field. He confessed to strangling most of the women and drinking their saliva to improve his magical powers.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono turned down the man's request for clemency in November 2007.
Amnesty International called on Indonesia last week to stop the execution. DPA
"The execution was carried out shortly before 10pm on Thursday," Nainggolan said, adding that Suradji's body was immediately brought to Deli Serdang's public hospital for an autopsy, before handed over to his family for burial.
He said before being executed Suradji had been granted all of his rights, including a chance to meet with his wife and other close relatives. Suradji was sentenced to death in 1998 after police found the women's bodies buried in a sugar cane field. He confessed to strangling most of the women and drinking their saliva to improve his magical powers.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono turned down the man's request for clemency in November 2007.
Amnesty International called on Indonesia last week to stop the execution. DPA
Business Besides Oil
