A police forensic expert has testified in court that he found the DNA of three individuals on jeans worn by Hussain Humam, the main suspect in the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.
Local media reported today at the hearing that the forensic expert told the judge that one of these DNA samples matched a the DNA sample of taken from Dr Afrasheem.
He told the court that the second DNA sample obtained matched that of Humam himself. He did not say whether the third sample was identified.
The expert told the judge that the chance of the DNA sample not being Dr Afrasheem was one in 9.8 billion and the chance of Humam’s DNA sample being wrong was one in 1.4 billion.
During the trial Humam’s lawyer Abdulla Haseen asked the forensic expert about the date he received Humam’s jeans, and was informed that he received them on October 2.
Haseen contended that while Dr Afrasheem was murdered between 12:00am to 1:00am on October 1, and Humam was arrested at 1:45am the same night, there was a window for police to put Dr Afrasheem’s DNA sample on Humam’s jeans, and asked the expert if he was able to determine at what time Humam’s jeans received the sample.
The forensic expert told the court that he was unable to determine the time.
Before concluding today’s hearing, the judge announced that another hearing into the case would be scheduled soon.
Dr Afrasheem was a well-known religious scholar and the MP for Ungoofaaru constituency. He was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, on the staircase of his home.
State prosecutors accused Humam, along with Ali Shan – who is also facing the same charges – and a minor identified as ‘Nangi’, of going to the residence of Dr Afrasheem and murdering him with a machete and a bayonet knife.
Humam initially confessed to the murder, but later withdraw his statement claiming it had been extracted under police duress.
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