Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1
By Farhad Daneshvar - Trend:
Baku will extradite 21 Iranian inmates serving prison sentences in Azerbaijan, Iranian envoy to Baku has told Trend.
Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen said March 1 that the inmates will be extradited March 2 through the border city of Astara.
Pak Ayeen added that the Iranian nationals were mostly convicted of drug-related offences in Azerbaijan.
Earlier at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov and Ambassador Pak Ayeen discussed the extradition of the inmates, Iranian embassy's press office said March 1.
During the meeting, Pak Ayeen touched upon friendly ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, saying the recent visit paid by President Ilham Aliyev to Tehran has opened a new chapter in ties between the neighboring countries.
In turn, Fikrat Mammadov also commented on President Aliyev's Tehran visit and added that the way for the expansion of ties between Iran and Azerbaijan has been paved.
President Aliyev visited Iran on Feb. 23, where Tehran and Baku signed 11 documents to expand bilateral ties.
Drug trafficking still remains as a serious issue in Iran, despite the efforts made by Iranian law enforcement bodies to stop it.
Iranian officials say the fight against drugs annually costs the country about $1 billion.