Michigan doctor charged with carrying out female genital mutilation

Jumana Nagarwala is accused of performing FGM on girls aged
between six and eight for the past 12 years from a medical office
in the Detroit suburb of Livonia

Jon Swaine in New York
Thursday 13 April 2017 18.22 BST

A doctor in Michigan has been charged with carrying out female genital mutilation on young girls, in what is thought to be the first prosecution of its kind in the US.

Jumana Nagarwala, an emergency room physician in Detroit, is accused of performing the procedure on girls aged between six and eight and then lying to investigators when confronted.

Nagarwala, 44, faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of all the charges against her. She was scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit on Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors alleged in a complaint filed to court that Nagarwala had been carrying out female genital mutilation procedures for the past 12 years from a medical office in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]