KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran has transferred 211 Afghan nationals serving sentences in Iranian prisons to Taliban authorities, the Taliban embassy in Tehran said on Sunday.
In a statement, the embassy stated that the inmates were handed over under a bilateral prisoner-transfer agreement and in coordination with Iran’s Ministry of Justice and the country’s Prisoner Transfer Committee.
The Taliban embassy said the individuals had been convicted and were serving prison terms, but no details were released regarding the specific charges or length of sentences.
The embassy thanked Iranian institutions and officials for facilitating the process, while authorities in Tehran have not yet commented publicly on the transfer.
Most Afghans held in Iranian prisons have been convicted of drug-related offences, according to previous statements by Iranian officials. Iran, which has some of the region’s strictest anti-narcotics laws, regularly executes Afghan nationals for trafficking and possession.
This latest transfer follows earlier handovers this year. In April and May, Iran returned two groups of 199 and 484 Afghan prisoners to Taliban authorities. In exchange, the Taliban transferred two Iranian nationals to Tehran, describing the move as a “gesture of goodwill and positive engagement.”
The exact number of Afghan citizens still held in Iranian prisons remains unclear. Taliban officials previously said that of 12,000 Afghans imprisoned in neighboring countries, around 8,000 are serving sentences in multiple Iranian facilities.
Meanwhile, executions of Afghan prisoners in Iran have sharply increased in recent years. According to Iranian rights groups, at least 62 Afghan citizens, including one woman, have been executed so far this year. Last year, at least 80 Afghans were executed in Iranian prisons.
