Genetic for memory – Newspaper Kommersant No. 9 (7454) dated 01/19/2023

On Wednesday, the State Duma Committee on Security recommended the adoption in the second reading of a government bill that significantly expands the list of persons subject to mandatory genomic registration. The committee did not support the proposals of the communist Aleksey Kurinny to confine himself to taking a DNA analysis from people suspected and accused only of grave and especially grave crimes, and not to subject administratively arrested persons to this procedure. The deputies also approved amendments on the procedure for the destruction of genomic information in the event that citizens have the right to rehabilitation.

Government amendments to the laws “On State Genomic Registration”, “On the Procedure for Serving Administrative Arrest” and “On Personal Data” were adopted in the first reading back in December 2020. The authors of the initiative proposed to significantly expand the list of persons subject to mandatory state genomic registration (now DNA analysis is taken only from those convicted of serious and especially serious crimes, as well as any crimes against sexual integrity), to include all those convicted and serving sentences of imprisonment , suspected and accused of committing any crimes, as well as persons subjected to administrative arrest. It is also planned to give the Investigative Committee the authority to conduct mandatory state genomic registration and clarify the redistribution of functions for its implementation between state authorities.

Anatoly Vyborny, Deputy Chairman of the Security Committee (United Russia), explained to Kommersant that such a long preparation of the bill for the second reading was mainly due to the coordination of different positions on who it is necessary to collect genomic information from – only those who committed grave and especially grave crimes, or even from administrative violators. In the end, a broader approach won out.

Nevertheless, deputy Alexei Kurinny (KPRF) at a committee meeting on January 18 tried to defend his amendments to subject to genomic registration of persons suspected and accused of committing only grave and especially grave crimes. “Our society today painfully perceives genomic registration itself and all actions with personal data,” Mr. Kurinny explained his idea. Moreover, in his opinion, it is not worth collecting genomic information of persons subjected to administrative arrest, given how widely this measure is used today, “including as part of the political persecution of activists.”

The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Alexander Avdeiko, called the bill “important and long-awaited”, and as an objection to the communist Kurinny, he told the story of a robbery in the Volgograd region. There, according to him, an “unidentified person” attacked a grocery store saleswoman: the attacker hit the woman several times, after which he fled, but left “biological traces.” And it was thanks to the genomic verification that the identity of this previously convicted citizen was revealed, the general reported.

Deputy Chairman of the Security Committee Ernest Valeev (United Russia), in turn, noted the trend according to which the evidence base in the investigation of crimes is used less and less, so genomic registration is of great importance. “Linking genomic registration to the severity of the crime committed is completely wrong for one simple reason – this is not a measure of punishment. This is the formation of a database in relation to all persons who fell into the sphere of activity of law enforcement agencies,” Mr. Valeev emphasized. He was supported by Anatoly Vyborny, who stated the need to “put an effective tool in the hands of the law enforcer.”

At the same time, the committee supported the amendments submitted for the second reading by three United Russia members: the head of the security committee, Vasily Piskarev, Anatoly Vyborny, and Mikhail Starshinov. They proposed to enshrine in the law the procedure for the destruction of genomic information in the event that suspects, accused or convicted persons have the right to rehabilitation. The basis for the destruction of these data will be an application submitted to the internal affairs bodies at the place of residence, and a court decision on rehabilitation. If we are talking about a person subjected to administrative arrest, then the genomic information is destroyed if the decision on the case of an administrative offense is canceled or the punishment in the form of arrest is canceled. In this case, the citizen will also have to apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a statement and a court order.

The State Duma plans to consider this bill in the second reading on January 24.

Ksenia Veretennikova