Three people were arrested Sunday in connection with the death of a 26-year-old Bedouin woman in southern Israel, during an apparent exorcism, a religious practice meant to remove spiritual entities deemed as evil from a person or an area believed to be possessed.
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According to Channel 12 News the suspects, all residents of the southern Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, include the woman's husband, 25, the sheikh who performed the exorcism, 64, and a doctor, 32, who was initially called in to treat the woman when the ritual went awry.
Available details suggest that the woman was brought to the sheikh – a local religious leader known for practicing this and other rituals – on Saturday, after she was feeling unwell.
She collapsed during the exorcism and was rushed to a clinic in Tel Sheva, where she was pronounced dead.
The exact nature of the ritual performed remains unclear, as does the identity of the religious leader. Israeli media said Monday that he is believed to have familial connections to terrorism.
The Southern District Police is investigating the case, and the woman's body has been transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for autopsy.
Moti Yosef, an attorney representing the woman's husband, denied his client was involved.
"My client does not know what happened during the treatment other than the fact that he put her into treatment alive and unfortunately she came out dead. He has nothing to do with her death. This is a tragedy," Yosef told Channel 12 News.
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