Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case – Detroit Free Press

In a major blow to the government, a federal judge in Detroit has declared the federal female genital mutilation law as unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to the procedure in the nation’s first FGM case.

The historic case involves minor girls from Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, including some who cried, screamed and bled during the procedure and one who was given Valium ground in liquid Tylenol to keep her calm, court records show.

The judge’s ruling also removed  three mothers from the case, including two Minnesota women whom prosecutors said tricked their daughters into thinking they were coming to Metro Detroit for a girls’ weekend, but instead had their genitals cut  at a Livonia clinic as part of a religious procedure.

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