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[l i z n o t e s]
Accused "Witch" Kepari Leniata Burned Alive By Mob In Papua New Guinea Excerpt from article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/kepari-leniata-young-mother-burned-alive-mob-sorcery-papua-new-guinea_n_2638431.html A young mother was burned alive in Papua New Guinea this week after townspeople accused her of being a witch. According to multiple reports, Kepari Leniata, 20, was tortured and killed in front of a mob of hundreds in the town of Mount Hagen. The woman, stripped naked and covered in gasoline, was burned alive on a pile of trash by relatives of a young boy who had died earlier in the week. The relatives had accused Leniata of killing him with sorcery. Police and firefighters who tried to save Leniata were chased away by an overwhelming crowd. Agence France-Press writes that the woman "admitted to killing the boy, who died after being [hospitalized] with stomach and chest pains on Tuesday"... AFP notes that many people in the island nation believe in sorcery rather than accept natural causes of death. While the 1971 Sorcery Act technically outlaws the burning of alleged witches, the practice persists. In 2009, another woman was burned alive for alleged sorcery, the news outlet points out... [liznote: Video at the above URL contains some good information, e.g. that many of these incidences actually are covering up travesties such as rapes, but unfortunately the news report also is mixed with misguided apologia to the effect that it's not the "beliefs" of these people that should be condemned but their not having adequate health care, education and police protection. Nonsense.] |
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