Judiciary Deputy: 3,800 Iranians Imprisoned Abroad

Iran’s Judiciary Deputy for International Affairs announced that 3,800 Iranians are imprisoned outside the country, with two thousand of them in Turkey.

Kazem Gharibabadi stated on Monday, February 14, that some Iranians abroad are imprisoned for criminal offenses, while others are held “unjustly or under frivolous political pretexts, including sanctions evasion,” which he said requires support for these individuals.

He pointed to “the high number of Iranian drug offenders” imprisoned abroad.

Gharibabadi’s statements about 3,800 imprisoned Iranians abroad come while Hossein Panahi Azar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Parliamentary and Iranian Affairs under the Rouhani government, had announced on June 21, 2018, that the number of imprisoned Iranians outside the country was 2,916, with a significant portion in Turkish prisons.

Accordingly, over the past three years and despite border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of imprisoned Iranians abroad has grown by approximately one-third.

The 31 percent increase in imprisoned Iranians abroad comes while numerous reports were released this year of the extradition of dozens of imprisoned Iranians from abroad, including from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

The presence of two thousand imprisoned Iranians in Turkey also coincides with the latest official statistics from that country, released on November 23 last year, less than two months ago, showing that the total number of foreign prisoners in the country is approximately 10,209, representing a 20 percent increase compared to 2018.

Accordingly, one-fifth of all foreign prisoners in Turkey are Iranian citizens.

Source: Radio Farda