A total of 191 legal cases were filed against charlatans and black magicians in the Kingdom from November 2013 to the end of May, a recent Ministry of Justice report showed.

Of that number, Jeddah courts recorded the most cases at 44, while Riyadh had 30.

Islam forbids practicing acts aimed to harm community, and witchcraft or black magic is one of them.

Justice Minister Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Isa had previously explained that in cases involving witchcraft, the courts issue verdicts after ensuring the right for compensation for those who have been harmed according to the set criminal and civil responsibility rules.

The latest high-profile case of sorcery in the Kingdom involved an Indonesian housemaid, Ati Bt Abeh Inan, 40, who was sentenced to death by the Al-Ahsa General Court in 2003 after she confessed to the charge that she cast a magic spell on her employer and his family.

The maid was freed last February and sent home to her country after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah pardoned her.

The same Justice Ministry report also released statistics on other types of litigation during the November to May period, which is the first seven months of year 1435 in the Islamic calendar.

There were 1,004 cases of insolvency across the Kingdom, with 300 in Riyadh.

There were 2,873 traffic cases registered in the country during the period, with Riyadh’s summary court considering 475.

The Riyadh General Court registered 631 damages lawsuits and Jeddah General Court 307, out of 1,611 cases in the Kingdom.

The ministry said the nation’s courts handled 186 cases of money laundering over the past seven months, with 36 in Jeddah and 28 in Jazan.

The report also showed that there were 347 cases of forced entry at houses and rest houses in the country, with 76 in Jeddah and 30 in Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province.

It also disclosed that the police recorded 49 cases of people eating during the day in Ramadan across the country, with 13 in Riyadh and 10 in Al-Ahsa.