Iraqs first DNA Lab

In Iraqs First DNA Lab "they have collected nearly 4,000 samples from unidentified bodies and relatives of people missing after explosions". The year old DNA lab plans to use its resources to "solve new and old mysteries in a country [Iraq] where war and sectarian conflict have created legions of them." Iraq plans on opening "two more labs in the coming years that would work exclusively on mass grave cases... and [can] chine a light on some of the darkest chapters of Iraq's bloody history." Since the opening of the new lab, the scientists have been able to "help out in court cases, by providing scientific evidence into a justice system... [that] has relied almost exclusively on confessions and uncorroborated accusations."

What is the reason for not having a DNA lab earlier? "Sanctions and bans... have obstructed [us] from using this technology," says the Baghdad morgue director Munjid Salahadin.

"the central Baghdad morgue built in the 1930's by the British," until recently has been run by the Shiite militias since the 2003 US-led invasion. Since there was no DNA lab to figure out who the dead decapitated, burned or tortured beyond recognition were, "Thousands were buried in unmarked graves, and morgue officials could do little other than photograph corpses and try to keep track of burial places."


"Iraqi judges, many of whom have been slow to accept the reliability of DNA evidence, increasingly call on morgue officials to help solve crimes and disputes."

Here are some of the cases where the new DNA lab has helped in Iraq's Justice System.

"DNA evidence vindicated a man who took his wife to court accusing her of bearing another man's child.
"Another recent case caught the attention of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who got an aide to call the morgue and demand that the case be given priority because two tribes were about to go to war."
"In another incident, relatives of an inmate in a Baghdad prison killed her when she became pregnant, allegedly after being raped by a guard. Two guards became suspects, but both denied the allegation. The woman's body was brought to the morgue, where scientists obtained a DNA sample from her fetus. The guards were forced to submit samples. One came back as a match."

I think that the creation of Iraqs first DNA lab was one of the best ideas. It will bring closure to many families, and help solve cases which would have been seen and unsolvable in the past.

Whoever figured out how to test DNA and stuff was a genius!!