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| ODD STORIES - Rough justice |
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27 Feb Woman gives birth while being hanged
A Papua New Guinea woman known as, Nolan Yekum, gave birth prematurely as she struggled to free herself from a hangman's noose, after villagers lynched her and her husband, believing they were involved in sorcery.
Media reports in Papua New Guinea said Nolan and her husband Paul were lynched in the remote village of Kilip in the western highlands two weeks ago, after villagers accused them of using black magic to kill a neighbour.
According to Paul, the villagers dragged the couple from their home and hung them from a tree and left them to die.
"We managed to loosen the noose to get our feet on the ground ... we were able to free ourselves," Paul said. "My wife, who was about seven months pregnant, delivered the baby while struggling to free herself. It was a painful experience for me and her."
For the next two weeks the couple hid with friends in other villages, but eventually decided to seek medical help at the Mount Hagen Hospital.
The couple deny ever practicing sorcery and say they had nothing to do with their neighbour’s death.
Hospital staff said the couple's baby girl and her mother were doing fine after they were admitted last Saturday.
Belief in black magic is strong in Papua New Guinea where women suspected of being witches are often hanged or burnt to death.
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