"Everyone knows that the collection and packaging of bone remains from the site in accordance with anatomical procedures by qualified specialists, namely forensic medical experts with medical knowledge, plays a crucial role in the subsequent forensic identification of those individuals," Director of the Ministry of Health's Forensic Medical Examination and Pathological Anatomy Union Adalat Hasanov said at the international conference titled "Modern Approaches and Strengthening Cooperation in Resolving the Issue of Missing Persons," held within the framework of cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), APA reports.
He said that, on the contrary, when bone remains are collected and packaged in a scattered manner by individuals without anatomical knowledge, it creates serious difficulties in the subsequent forensic identification process.
"A new Department of Forensic Anthropology is expected to be established in the near future at the Second Forensic Criminalistics Department of the Union in line with international practice.
The forensic criminalistic examination of skeletons and bone fragments exhumed from the liberated territories of Karabakh, as well as from Martyrs' Alleys in other cities and districts of the republic and brought to the department, is carried out on the basis of decisions by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The received bone remains are initially examined and documented in the presence of investigators, after which they are cleaned and subjected to forensic criminalistic examinations.
Based on examinations conducted in our laboratories, our forensic medical experts have identified various fatal injuries, including blunt force trauma, injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons, gunshot wounds, and shrapnel injuries, on the bone remains of 454 individuals. After the forensic examination of the bone remains is completed, biological samples are taken from various parts of each skeleton, particularly from long bones and intact teeth, and sent to the Genetic Research Center of the State Security Service for forensic identification.
Once the genetic profile has been established and the identification process completed, the bone remains are handed over to the families," he said.
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