The State Forensic Examination Committee has proposed adopting a law on DNA registration. It would specify which categories of citizens would be required to provide genetic material.
The draft law is currently being prepared, ONT television reported.
“If 5% of the population is in the database, then it is clear that it has some effect. Of course, it starts working at full capacity when 40% of the population is in the database. In my view, this database becomes the most powerful tool for solving crimes and preventing them,” said Yury Ausiyuk, chief state forensic medical expert at the State Forensic Examination Committee.
The DNA database would make it possible to identify perpetrators through the DNA of their relatives.
“Parent-child testing works both retrospectively and provides guarantees for the future. Descendants do not necessarily have to be in the database themselves; they can also be identified through family ties,” the television channel noted.
The case of a girl’s murder near Minsk is cited as an example. The killer left genetic material, and law enforcement officers identified a suspect but were unable to prove his involvement in the crime. The man later died and his body was cremated. DNA was obtained from his deceased mother, and his involvement in the crime was subsequently proven.
Human rights defenders recently reported that authorities were collecting DNA from relatives of people who had left Belarus. Police officers said this was necessary to create a DNA database so that, if necessary, people abroad “could be identified.”
