Sri Lanka frees 9 jailed Iranian sailors after FMs talks

According to the agreement between the foreign ministers of Iran and Sri Lanka, 9 Iranian sailors imprisoned in Sri Lanka have been released and will return home soon.

Following the consultations a few days ago between the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry in Tehran and announcing the release of the prisoners of the two countries in the near future on the humanitarian background and through the efforts of the Iranian embassy in Colombo, for the first time in the consular relations of the two countries, 9 of the imprisoned Iranian sailors from the city of Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchistan were released from the prisons of that country at the order of the Sri Lankan authorities and handed over to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Colombo.

Those Iranian sailors will soon return to their homeland and families with the coordination of the Iranian embassy.

Also, two Iranian prisoners will be transferred from Sri Lanka to Iran within the framework of the agreement on the extradition of convicts between the two countries and through the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Judiciary.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers following up on securing pardoning, release and transfer of Iranian prisoners and legal and consular support of Iranians abroad among its main programs and serious measures.(MNA)