(Detroit News) Federal prosecutors signaled Wednesday they will appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss several genital mutilation charges against several doctors last month while ruling a ban on the practice was unconstitutional.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit filed a notice of appeal late Wednesday, four weeks after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman delivered a significant, but not fatal, blow to the first criminal case of its kind nationwide involving female genital mutilation. The judge left intact conspiracy and obstruction charges that could send Dr. Jumana Nagarwala of Northville and three others to federal prison for decades.
The judge’s opinion last month drew complaints worldwide that girls were left unprotected against a controversial procedure practiced by some members of the Dawoodi Bohra, a small Muslim sect from India that has a considerable community in Metro Detroit.
