Shocking footage has surfaced of a Sudanese man being publicly beheaded in Saudi Arabia for being a sorcerer

Crouched on his knees and blindfolded, Abdul Hamid Bin Hussain Bin Moustafa al-Fakki was executed in a Medina car park, in the west of the country, as dozens looked on. The grainy footage shows the executioner lining his sword up on the back of Abdul Hamid's neck, before one swift stroke decapitates him. The Sudanese man, who was killed on September 20, 2011 is believed to have been the 44th person executed in Saudi Arabia in 2011 - and the 11th foreign national. The total for 2011 is 17 more than for the whole of 2010. Abdul Hamid is understood to have been arrested in 2005 after he was entrapped by a man working for the Mutawa'een (religious police). He was asked to concoct a spell that would cause the officer's father to leave his second wife. According to the officer's account Abdul Hamid agreed to carry out the curse in exchange for 6,000 Saudi Arabian riyals. He was beaten after his arrest and thought to have been forced to admit to acts of sorcery. In a secret trial, where he was not allowed legal representation, he was sentenced to death by the General Court in Medina in March 2007. Since the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi Arabian authorities have resumed executions at an alarming pace. According to Amnesty International seven people have been executed since the killings resumed on September 5, 2011. Some 140 prisoners are believed to be facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.