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While mentioning that a certain number of samples had still not been identified, Parsons specified that the total number of unique DNA profiles found in mass graves had reached 7,001.
Mladic, former Commander of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, is charged with genocide against more than 7,000 Srebrenica Muslims, whom the VRS shot in the days that followed the occupation of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995.
Prosecution witness Parsons explained to judges that the ICMP had identified the victims by comparing DNA samples found in mass graves and samples obtained from family members of the missing persons from Srebrenica.
As explained by Parsons, according to ICMP standards, in order for an identification to be reliable, the compared samples should have a matching rate of 99.95 per cent. Parsons said that in most cases, the rate was much higher.
During the cross-examination Mladic’s Defence attorney Miodrag Stojanovic asked the witness whether it was possible to determine the cause and time of death through a DNA analysis. Parsons responded negatively.
“Is it possible that an identified person died in some other period and not in July 1995?” the Defence attorney asked. The witness answered affirmatively.
When asked whether any type of information “about the cause and way of death” could be obtained through a DNA analysis, Parsons said: “I would say that, in the case of when our forensic anthropologist finds a skull with a bullet-made hole on it, it tells us how the person died.”
Mladic is also charged with persecuting Muslims and Croats in 20 Bosnian municipalities, terrorising civilians in Sarajevo by long-lasting shelling and sniping and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
Mladic’s Defence attorney is due to complete the cross-examination of Parsons on July 10.
