Sorcerer accused of forty-two murders

A traditional sorcerer has gone on trial in the Indonesian city of Medan, accused of killing forty-two women.

The man, Ahmad Suradji, was arrested in April when the police began digging up the bodies of victims near his house.The police said many had been prostitutes who sought his help to become more attractive to men.

Officials say the sorcerer had admitted killing the women in a black magic ritual.

The courtroom was packed with more than a-hundred people as the trial began.

If found guilty, the man faces the death penalty.

The BBC correspondent in Indonesia says mystical powers are widely believed in there, and sorcerers can be found even in Jakarta's modern shopping centres.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service