When Governments Go After Witches
Most Western countries stopped executing people for witchcraft by the late 1700s. To this day, however, many governments around the world still pursue people suspected of sorcery. Here are five places where the global hunt for witches continues.
1. Swaziland's Regulations on Broomstick Flight
After a private detective in Swaziland was arrested on charges of violating airspace rules with a makeshift drone last spring, journalists reached out to Sabelo Dlamini, the country's Civil Aviation Authority marketing and corporate affairs director, for a more detailed explanation of the aviation laws in question. The statute sets a clear ceiling of 150 meters, just under 500 feet, on light aircraft, which can include wayward kites or remote-controlled toys. According to Dlamini, though, the edict also covers a more imaginative type of aerial vehicle. “A witch on a broomstick should not fly above the [150-meter] limit,” he said. Witches violating the rule would be subject to the same penalty as other violators, an arrest and a fine of more than $50,000, the South African newspaper The Times reported on its website. No penalties cover “witches flying below” that height, yet.
GlobalPost noted that Dlamini may have “used the flying broomstick example only to illustrate his point” because brooms in Swaziland—small bundles of sticks without handles for riding on—are thought to be used by witches, as The Times notes, only “to fling potions about homesteads” and “not for transport.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/when-governments-go-after-witches/280856/
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Who'd have thunk it? Good thing I'm a private practitioner.