Accused witch burned alive in Papua New Guinea

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PAPUA_NEW_GUINEA_SORCERY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-07-23-32-01

Feb 7, 11:32 PM EST
Accused witch burned alive in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) -- A mob stripped, tortured and bound a woman accused of witchcraft, then burned her alive in front of hundreds of witnesses in a Papua New Guinea town, police said Friday after one of the highest profile sorcery-related murders in this South Pacific island nation.

Hundreds of bystanders, including many children, watched and some took photographs of Wednesday's brutal slaying. Grisly pictures were published on the front pages of the country's biggest circulating newspapers, The National and Post-Courier, while the prime minister, police and diplomats condemned the killing.

Kepari Leniata, a 20-year-old mother, had been accused of sorcery by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who died in the hospital the day before.

She was tortured with a hot iron rod, bound, doused in gasoline, then set alight on a pile of car tires and trash in the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mount Hagen, Kakas said.

[mindwalker_i]

1. Boy, things have come a long way since the Salem witch trials

Now they've got gasoline, tires, and cameras, not to mention bic lighters to easy access to fire (how hard was it in Salem?). What will they think of next?

[Beaverhausen]

5. What is wrong with you?

You are a real jerk

[thelordofhell]

6. People burn a woman to death........and I'm a jerk

Look in the mirror please..........and if it makes you feel more superior to call me names, I won't stop you

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. I think their point is that this is not a suitable subject for making jokes (nt)

[Marrah_G]

3. This makes my blood run cold

[mwrguy]

4. I didn't know that Papua New Guinea was run by republicans.

Learn something every day.

[cali]

7. why does everything have to be fodder for a political agenda?

this has jackshit to do with republicans.

[HappyMe]

9. Wait and see.

Somebody will drag guns into this too.

[Fumesucker]

10. Because DU is a political forum for the most part

If most of us weren't obsessed with interested in politics we wouldn't be reading and posting here.

And yeah, we have the very same type of people here as they do in Papua New Guinea who would do this in a heartbeat if they thought they could get away with it.

I'm sure that some of the people watching that were horrified at what was going on but they probably correctly figured if they stood up for the "witch" that they would join her on the pyre.

There's even a contingent here on DU who are always ready to fry some accused criminal before all the facts are in.

[Mr Dixon]

11. SMGDH

Madness, the world is mad these Stone Age knuckle draggers should meet the same fate, women have been catching hell on the planet for far too long IMO.