Europe's last executed witch to be cleared

Anna Goeldi, a maid in the small alpine region of Glarus, was beheaded in 1782 for being a witch after she confessed under torture to conversing with the devil and poisoning the daughter of the house.

But her name could now be cleared following a decision yesterday by local lawmakers to recommend a reversal of the conviction.

Campaigners claim she was the victim of a conspiracy between the eastern town's judical and Protestant church authorities.