Doctors indicted in Detroit-area genital mutilation case

By ED WHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT — Apr 26, 2017, 5:59 PM ET

A grand jury indicted two doctors and a third person on Wednesday in an alleged scheme to perform genital mutilation on two girls from Minnesota at a Detroit-area clinic.

Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and Attar's wife, Farida, are charged with female genital mutilation, conspiracy and other crimes.

The federal indictment alleges the trio tried to obstruct the investigation by telling other people to make false statement to authorities. The doctors are also accused of lying to investigators.

Genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the United States. But the practice is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

"This brutal practice is conducted on girls for one reason: to control them as women. FGM will not be tolerated in the United States," said Dan Lemisch, the acting U.S. attorney in Detroit.

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