Scientist who genetically edited twin girls ‘could face death penalty’

The scientist who created the world’s first genetically edited babies is living under house arrest, and colleagues fear he could face the death penalty.

The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, caused alarm around the world after he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one couple giving birth to twin girls.

He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.

Since December, he has been confined to his apartment in Shenzhen, and colleagues fear he could face charges for corruption and bribery, which can carry the death penalty in China.

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The organiser of the genetics summit where He announced his findings, Prof Robin Lovell-Badge, of the Francis Crick Institute in London said, ‘All the reports suggest he is an university owned apartment and there are a quite a number of guards.

‘It’s not clear whether he’s under guard, meaning house arrest or the guards are there to protect him. I suspect both.

‘There is an official investigation led by the ministries of science and health. Lots of people are probably going to lose their jobs, he wasn’t the only one involved in this obviously. So how has he got them to do all this work?

‘He could be had up on all sorts of charges of corruption and being guilty of corruption in China these days is not something you want to be.’