“I was OK with his new job. He didn’t hurt anyone,” she said.
She stressed that he was a good Muslim, beginning his program by reading an Islamic verse that denies the powers of fortunetellers and emphasizes that “no one knows the unknown but God.”
Without his income, the family has been left near destitute, borrowing about US$10,000 to make ends meet, she said. Her older son’s fiancee called off the engagement because of Sibat’s imprisonment.
Rahmoon said she has spoken to her husband only once since his arrest — about five months ago. He told her he was innocent and cried on the phone. She saw Saudi TV footage of him as he was escorted to jail with his hands and feet chained.
“The sight of him was horrifying. He’d become thin as a stick,” she said.
“I’m angry. He’s been wronged. The whole world should get on its feet and help him get freed. The Lebanese government should demand his release,” she said, wiping tears with her yellow headscarf.
Sibat’s case has brought sporadic media attention since his arrest. The report of his imminent execution last week brought a flare of calls in the Lebanese press for his release.
Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said last week that he had urged the Saudi government not to carry out the execution.
Rahmoun said she had talked to Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who promised to help.
“But nothing has happened,” she said.
Sibat did not practice psychic reading while in Saudi Arabia, his lawyer argues.
“Many Christians and non-Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia — and I’ve never heard the religious police there arresting them because they drank wine back home,” she said.
RSS