Witches to face prison for false predictions

Romanian witches and fortune tellers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines or even prison time if their predictions don't come true.

Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money and crack down on tax evasion.

Witches argue they shouldn't be blamed for the failure of their tools.

"They can't condemn witches, they should condemn the cards," Queen Witch Bratara Buzea said.

Critics say the proposal is a ruse to deflect public attention from the country's many problems, including a struggling economy.

In January, the government changed labour laws to officially recognize the centuries-old practice of witchcraft as a taxable profession, prompting angry witches to dump poisonous mandrake into the Danube in an attempt to put a hex on them.

The latest bill was passed in the Senate last week, but must still be approved by a financial and labour committee and by the Chamber of Deputies, the other house of Romania's parliament.

Bratara called the proposed bill overblown. "I will fight until my last breath for this not to be passed," she said.

Sometimes, she argued, people don't provide their real identities, dates of birth or other personal details, which could skew a seer's predictions. "What about when the client gives false details about themselves? We can't be blamed for that."

The new bill would also require witches to have a permit, to provide their customers with receipts, and to bar them from practising near schools and churches.