Bayan News – Askar Jalaliyan, the Deputy Minister of Justice of Iran, says that currently there are eight foreign prisoners in the country’s prisons, the majority of whom are from Afghanistan.
The IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday (June 12) that the Iranian Ministry of Justice is trying to repatriate foreign prisoners to their home countries through extradition treaties.
The Deputy Minister of Justice of Iran added: “Currently, the largest number of foreign prisoners in Iranian prisons are related to Afghanistan, and our effort is to return them all to their country; however, due to the infrastructural weaknesses in Afghanistan, this possibility has not been provided.”
According to this Iranian official, efforts are being made to negotiate the transfer of convicted Taliban prisoners for the repatriation of Afghan prisoners, but the transfer of a prisoner is conditional on the consent of the prisoner himself.
He added: “Although the maintenance of foreign prisoners imposes financial, political and security costs on the government, the transfer of a prisoner is subject to his consent, and if he does not consent, the transfer will not take place.”
It should be noted that the Iranian government has arrested many Afghans on charges of drug trafficking and criminal offenses, and has executed some prisoners for drug trafficking.
In addition, Iran has handed over prisoners to the Taliban twice in the past two years based on an agreement.
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