By Ola Noureldin

Prosecutors in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahleya ordered, on Tuesday morning, the release of Dr Raslan Fadl, the doctor accused of causing the death of a young girl during a female genital mutilation (FGM) operation. Investigation is pending.

Dr Fadl had turned himself in, claiming the operation was at the request of the girl’s family, denying any negligence or malpractice leading to her death. However, Tamer Ghanem, Al Dostour party office head in Aga, had said that “Fadl drugged the girl himself; he did not have with him an anesthesiologist, which was the main cause of Al Batea’s death.”

Soheir Mohamed Al- Batea, aged 13, died on Thursday following a severe drop in blood pressure after undergoing the operation, illegal since 2008.

Al-Batea was rushed from the private clinic to a hospital, where she died immediately after the operation, Aswat Masriya news website reported.

Daqahleya governor Salah Al-Medawy has ordered the shutting down of the medical facility that carried out Al-Batea’s surgery.