(ABC-Australia) A mother, a former registered nurse and Sydney Islamic sect leader convicted in Australia’s first female genital mutilation court case — seen as a breakthrough in prosecuting the crime — have been acquitted by an appeal court.
In November 2015, a jury found the mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and former nurse Kubra Magennis guilty of cutting the genitals of two sisters aged around six and seven during ceremonies at homes in Wollongong and Sydney’s north-west.
Shabbir Vaziri, a head cleric and spiritual leader in the Dawoodi Bohra community, was found guilty of being an accessory for directing members to lie about the practice of “khatna,” a procedure involving the nicking or cutting a girl’s clitoris in the presence of female elders.
