Doctor not to be punished in case on female circumcision in Ingushetia

A court in Magas found a doctor from a local clinic guilty in a case on genital mutilation against a girl from Chechnya. However, the doctor was released from punishment due to the statute of limitations, the organization “Justice Initiative”* reported. The human rights defenders announced the intention to challenge the court’s verdict.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in May 2020, a woman from Chechnya succeeded in seeking an institution of a criminal case in Ingushetia on the intentional infliction of harm to the health of her nine-year-old daughter. The woman claims that without her knowledge, the former husband took the girl to a clinic in Magas, where she was subjected to female circumcision.

The father of the girl who was circumcised and the doctor of the clinic belong to the brotherhood of the Batal-Khadji community, who practice the mentioned genital mutilation procedures, the “Mediazona” (the publication has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice on the register of media performing the functions of a foreign agent) reports.

The court found Izana Nalgieva, a pediatric gynecologist, guilty of intentional infliction of minor bodily harm and sentenced her to a fine of 30,000 roubles.

“A fine of 30,000 roubles is an absolutely inadequate punishment for mutilating a child’s genitals,” says Tatiana Savvina, a lawyer for the “Justice Initiative” project.

The girl still suffers from the experience, and when an obstetric and gynecological examination was carried out for the trial, the girl was crying and endured it very hard, Tatiana Savvina noted.

Relatives of the injured girl are counting on a fair decision in the case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

*The organization has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice on the register of NCOs performing the functions of a foreign agent.