million-riyal-man runs away MADINA: A licensed “ruqya” reciter of the Qur'an has entered the drama surrounding the Madina judge charged with accepting money to pass verdicts through his court and who claims he was “under a spell” at the time of the alleged acts of corruption. Ruqya practitioner Fayez Al-Qathami told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that he questioned what he said was a “jinni”- or “genie”, as traditionally rendered in English – that spoke in the voice of the judge in a ruqya session conducted in the presence of the “Magic Committee” from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Al-Qathami said that Sheikh Fahd Al-Muhaimeed, the president of Madina Court, asked him to prepare a document detailing “the information provided by the genie during interrogation”, including the offences the judge committed and information concerning a real estate broker who the judge claimed put a spell on him. The judge told investigators that the broker had “taken control of his thoughts” and made him rule on cases “without being conscious of committing any illegal act.” The broker is also a suspect in the case but has fled justice, while the judge said he was later cured by ruqya Qur'anic recitation. The judge was first taken into custody during Ramadan, and several businessmen and state employees along with seven engineering and planning firms are all suspected of involvement in the various cases that passed through his court. Continuing investigations into the case, which involves alleged bribes to arrange through the judge's court illegal ownership of real estate, have revealed that the owner of one engineering firm has fled the country. His flight reportedly followed the discovery of SR100 million in his account. An engineer who was arrested for overseeing the execution of plans for the illegally owned land provided investigators with information on 30 more state officials and businessmen involved in the corruption case.
