Egyptian court convicts doctor of female genital mutilation

AN EGYPTIAN appeals court Monday, convicted a doctor of manslaughter and performing female genital mutilation that led to the death of a 13-year-old girl, sentencing him to two years and three months in prison in the country’s first case that came to trial over the widespread practice, defense lawyers said.

  The doctor, Raslan Fadl, was initially acquitted of the 2013 death of Sohair el-Batea, in a village in the Nile Delta province of Dakahliya. He was not present in court Monday, and his whereabouts were unknown.

  Monday’s verdict was “a triumph for women,” said lawyer Reda el-Danbouki, who represented the deceased. Egypt has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation in the world and criminalized the practice in 2008, but it remains widespread.

  “I am really happy,” el-Danbouki, told The AP, following the ruling. “Here is a judge that understands.”

  The lawyer said the court also fined Fadl $70 and ordered his clinic closed for a year, and handed el-Batea’s father a three-month suspended sentence for complicity in subjecting his daughter to the procedure.