A federal judge dismissed charges Tuesday against two doctors and six others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a Detroit clinic, and also declared a US law banning the practice unconstitutional.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who performed the surgery, and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, who allowed his clinic in Livonia, Michigan, to be used for the procedure.
The same charges were dismissed against Attar's wife, Farida, and Tahera Shafiq, who assisted in the procedure, as well as four women who tricked their daughters into going to the suburban clinic to undergo the practice for religious purposes.
Four of the nine girls are from Michigan; the others are residents of Illinois and Minnesota.
Nagarwala also admitted she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra. The remaining defendants are also apart of the sect.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges Tuesday against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, (pictured) who performed surgeries on minor girls
The charges were also dismissed against Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, who allowed his clinic in Livonia, Michigan, to be used for the procedures
Nagarwala pleaded not guilty last month to the two remaining charges she now faces.
She still faces conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and obstruction charges. Others in the case face obstruction charges.
Friedman argued in his 28-page opinion that Congress 'overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit female genital mutilation.'
He wrote: 'FGM is a "local criminal activity" which, in keeping with long-standing tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress.
Michigan was the 26th US state to officially ban the practice, also known as female circumcision or cutting.
The state law was passed a few months after Nagarwala's April 2017 arrest.
The suburban Detroit clinic where the FGM procedures were performed is pictured
Female genital mutilation has been condemned by the United Nations but is common for girls in some parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
'As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault. FGM is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce.
'The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature,' Friedman said.
A spokeswoman said Tuesday that the US attorney's office is currently reviewing Friedman's opinion.
Molly Blythe, a lawyer for Nagarwala, said in an email her team was thrilled about the ruling.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman (pictured) also declared a US law banning female genital mutilation unconstitutional
'We are very excited about today's ruling, although the victory is bittersweet given we fully anticipated our client to be vindicated at trial on those charges,' Blythe said.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith also said she didn't think Friedman 'would rule in our favor.'
Smith filed a motion on behalf of Nagarwala to have the charges dismissed.
'When I first started researching, I was not sure how strong the motion would be, but I became more confident this would be the right result,' she said.
Smith said that if the ruling is appealed that 'we're hoping the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court agree that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.'
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/21/genital-mutilation-charges-dismissed-in-detroit-area-case/
Main photo article A federal judge dismissed charges Tuesday against two doctors and six others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a Detroit clinic, and also declared a US law banning the practice unconstitutional.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/21/05/6458782-6411771-image-a-52_1542779310528.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий