ISIL attack prompts DNA tests in Kuwait

ISIL attack prompts DNA tests in Kuwait

Kuwaiti lawmakers have adopted a law making DNA testing mandatory for all of the country’s citizens and foreign residents in order to create a comprehensive database.

Kuwait’s parliament passed the legislation on Wednesday after a request by the government for such a move to help the country’s security agencies make quicker arrests in criminal cases.

Under the law, Kuwait’s Interior Ministry is tasked with establishing a database of all 1.3 million citizens and 2.9 million foreign residents in the Arab country.

The law also stipulates that the individuals who refuse to comply with the legislation will face a sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to $33,000 (about €30,000). People who give fake samples can also be incarcerated for seven years.

A sum of $400 million emergency funding has been earmarked for the execution of the law.

“We have approved the DNA testing law and approved the additional funding. We are prepared to approve anything needed to boost security measures in the country,” said Jamal al-Omar, a Kuwaiti lawmaker.
The decision to make such a law was made following a bomb attack at a Shia mosque in Kuwait City that claimed the lives of nearly 30 people during Friday prayers on June 26. More than 220 people were also injured in the attack, which was carried out in al-Sawabir, a busy residential and shopping district of the capital.

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.