Sudan’s interior minister says country must advance justice through DNA technology

February 12, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid warned today his country might suffer a “technological shock” that would undermine efforts to realise justice unless more work is done to keep up with advances in the field of forensic evidence.

At a forum on criminal technology the minister called for utilising DNA in investigating crimes.

Hamid stressed his ministry is doing its best in combating crimes using advanced forensics “but the world is advancing significantly in this area [of forensic evidence] and in the commission of crimes and in the quality of technology and communications”.

The interior minister also said that it is important to deal with legal bodies in the Arab world and the region as well as the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

The director of the Criminal Evidence Division Maj. Gen. Al-Hadi Majzoub urged the government to push for legislation allowing the use of DNA in their work without compromising citizens’ privacy.

Maj. Gen Majzoub disclosed that they have requested a formal opinion from the Islamic Fiqh Council on the use of DNA. He noted the disparity in views of Islamic scholars regarding this issue.

According to the lawyers.com website the DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains all the genetic information about a person and is unique to each individual person.

Since every person has unique DNA, the discovery of particular DNA evidence at a crime scene can help law enforcement determine who was involved in the crime. On the other hand, law enforcement can determine that a particular suspect wasn’t involved by the absence of his DNA.

(ST)