Nicola Sturgeon issues apology for ‘historical injustice’ of witch hunts

More than 2,500 Scots - most of them women - were executed under the Witchcraft Act of 1563

Nicola Sturgeon has issued a posthumous apology to the thousands of people persecuted as witches in Scotland, underlining that the deep misogyny that motivated this colossal" injustice is something women today still have to live with.

As she responded to a petition demanding a pardon for the more than 4,000 people in Scotland - the vast majority of them women - who were accused, convicted and many of whom were executed under the Witchcraft Act of 1563, the first minister told the Scottish parliament that she was acknowledging that egregious historic injustice" and extending a formal posthumous apology to all those who were so vilified.