A MARRIED couple jailed for sorcery and serious sex offences have lost their final appeals against their sentences.
The court heard women were forced into having sex with the husband as part of ‘black magic rituals’ as the wife recorded the sessions.
The couple lived the high life on the money they blackmailed from their victims before one women alerted police to the scam.
A 47-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife, both Bahrainis, were arrested after authorities discovered that the two had duped more than five women and pocketed thousands of dinars.
They also tricked their victims into succumbing to their fears and threatened to turn their lives into ‘hell’ if they did not have sex with the male defendant, according to court documents.
They told the victims that if they had sex with the 47-year-old ‘Devil’s servant’ all their family issues would be resolved within days.
The wife secretly filmed the victims while her husband sexually abused them. She then blackmailed the victims into handing over thousands of dinars and threatened to post the videos on social media if they did not provide them with the money.
Authorities uncovered the illegal racket when one of the victims reported her ordeal to the authorities.
The rest of the victims also agreed to testify against the defendants in court behind closed doors.
The male defendant was jailed for 10 years by the High Criminal Court in April, while his wife was sentenced to five years.
Sorcery
They were both found guilty of sorcery, while the man was also charged with rape and his wife with aiding and abetting.
The male defendant denied the charges in court and said he had sex with his victims with their consent.
They lodged appeals at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court which was rejected, and a final appeal has been kicked out by the Cassation Court.
The wife confessed that the lure of a ‘lavish lifestyle’ and ‘trips to London and Paris’ made her commit the crimes.
“The defendants were found guilty of the charges due to sufficient evidence presented against them,” read the appeal court ruling.
“The victims identified the defendants in court and described how they were sexually assaulted by the male defendant.
“The female defendant would film the victims while her husband raped them. She would then blackmail them.
“The devilish couple would threaten to turn their victims’ lives into hell if they did not have sex with the male defendant.
“They promised they could fix all their family issues if they had sex with the male sorcerer.
“The male defendant said that by having sex with the victims he could use black magic to make their wishes come true.
“They lost their final appeal due to sufficient evidence against them.”
The two defendants were also both fined BD5,000 each and the court previously allowed compensation claims to be filed by the victims at the High Civil Court.
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