(Detroit News) As many as six members of a Muslim sect from India were questioned by a federal grand jury Wednesday as prosecutors pursue more criminal charges involving new girls in the nation’s first female genital mutilation case.
The grand jury appearances by members of the Dawoodi Bohra community come as defense lawyers challenge the constitutionality of an untested federal law criminalizing female genital mutilation. Legal experts suspect the government is trying to bolster its case to withstand the legal challenge by adding more girls from multiple states.
The ongoing grand jury investigation and the prospect of additional charges could delay an unprecedented criminal trial scheduled to start in January in downtown Detroit. The criminal case has been closely followed closely in India, where the Dawoodi Bohra are based, and by international human rights groups opposed to female genital mutilation, a federal crime since 1996.
