Zaynitdin Giyasov, the chief of the Main Bureau of Forensic Medicine of the Ministry of Health; Shukhrat Islamov, deputy chief of the Forensic Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; and Tulkin Samatov, deputy chief of the Ministry of Justice’s Sulyamanova Republican Center of Forensic Expertise, attended the 62nd annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). They were among participants from more than 60 nations at the conference from 22 to 27 February, Giyasov said.

Their participation was supported by the US Embassy in Tashkent’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement assistance program. It was the latest aspect of an ongoing partnership that has included professional conferences, upgrades in laboratory equipment, many visits by US forensic science experts to Uzbekistan, and visits by experts from Uzbekistan to laboratories in the US The goal is to strengthen the use of scientific analysis of evidence that is at the heart of many criminal investigations.

In a presentation on 11 March to his colleagues about the conference, Giyasov spoke about seminars on controlling biases in analyzing evidence. Those seminars focused on the idea that forensic laboratories simply provide the facts that lead to conclusions in an investigation. The presenters in those seminars spoke about strategies for avoiding assumptions and being open to new information that can move investigations in different directions, he said.

“The work is based on science. You have no stake in the outcome,” Giyasov said in describing the lessons of those seminars.

Other seminars covered the use of forensic science in courtrooms, certification of experts, and accreditation of laboratories, among many other topics. Many of the sessions included high-ranking judges and well known experts in forensic science fields, Giyasov added.

He said the AAFS conference was so informative that the forensics community in Uzbekistan would like to develop a similar professional association here to address ongoing issues and new developments in the forensic sciences.

“I learned a lot, and we hope to follow up on it,” Giyasov said. “This helps in establishing goals for us, and in deciding which directions to take.”

Samatov said he found the discussions of certification of forensic experts particularly interesting, as well as the seminars on DNA analysis. He said he hoped forensic experts from Uzbekistan would have the opportunity to present some of their work at future professional conferences.

“We can be more open,” he said, mentioning studies conducted in Uzbekistan in ballistics and other fields of forensic science that would be of interest to his counterparts. “We look forward to participating in the world summit of forensic experts next year, and to present some of our science.”