Identification of dictatorship dead begins
Human Rights Minister Ideli Salvatti
Human Rights Minister Ideli Salvatti announced that the experts hired by the Secretary of Human Rights have initiated the process of identification of the 1,049 skeletons found in a clandestine trench at the Cemitério de Perus, a graveyard in São Paulo, in 1990. “Since we don’t have a full database with the DNA of family members, they will start the collection of the materials today [Jul 23],” Ideli explained.
According to the minister, the removal of the bones is expected to begin in September or October, after which they are to be taken to a laboratory set up in a house especially rented for this purpose, but the identification of the human remains should continue into the following year.
The project is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture, and has the collaboration of the Federal University of São Paulo. Salvatti reported that both institutions have launched a project for the creation of an information center for forensic anthropology. “It’s an extremely delicate job, that of comparing DNA. […] For the families involved, it is a decisive matter,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, one of the members of the National Truth Commission.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Identification of dictatorship dead begins
