21 prisoners swapped between Iran, Turkey

Following the implementation of the agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey for the convicts’ swap, 21 prisoners were exchanged at the Bazargan border, said an official at Iran’s Ministry of Justice.

Adviser to the Deputy Minister of Justice Kamal Abdollahi made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that in this exchange, 15 Iranian convicts who were in Turkish prisons were transferred to the country in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stating that 6 convicted citizens of Turkey were extradited to their own country to continue their sentences, he added that drug trafficking was the main reason for the arrest and conviction of these individuals in Iran and Turkey.

In the last three years, nine prisoners from the two countries have been exchanged, and prisoners exchanged between the two countries will spend the remainder of their sentences in prisons inside their own country.