Iran transfers 16 prisoners to Afghanistan

HEART CITY (Pajhwok): Iran has handed over 16 prisoners to the Afghan government, an official said on Sunday.

The Afghans jailed in Iran were released after a bilateral agreement between the neighbours on exchanging prisoners.

This was the first step toward releasing Afghan prisoners by Iran after the agreement had signed in 2006, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said.

Mazullah Dawlati told Pajhwok Afghan News that some of the people were awarded life imprisonment after being convicted on drug trafficking charges.

The convicts would serve their jail terms in Afghanistan, the official said, adding more than 5,000 Afghans were languishing in Iranian prisons.

However, the Afghan government is trying to continue with swapping inmates with Iran.

Attorney General Office (AGO) Chief Prosecutor Aziz Ahmad Sarbaz said similar contracts had been inked with Russia and Tajikistan. As a result, 300 Afghan prisoners have been handed over by Tajikistan so far.

One of the prisoners handed over by Iran said she had been sentenced to 11 years in jail in a drug-trafficking case.

Miriam Ahmadi hailed the efforts of the Afghan government but criticised Iran’s treatment of prisoners. She alleged the Afghans were punished in an inhuman way.

A month ago, the Afghan government also handed over 14 Iranian prisoners to authorities in the neighbouring country.

mds/mud

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