Georgia hands over 101 Iranian prisoners to Iran for repatriation

Georgia has handed over 101 Iranian prisoners who were serving their time in the country over to Iran as part of a repatriation effort amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The inmates were delivered to Iran's judicial authorities on Wednesday via the Tehran-based Mahan Airways flight and will serve the remainder of their terms in their country of origin.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said the move was aimed at supporting its citizens abroad, in particular during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

[Iran's stage agencies have a mission] to assist and address the situation of Iranian citizens, especially prisoners abroad. Given the current state of the coronavirus worldwide, this is the most important issue," the ministry said while commenting on the handover.

The repatriation programme has seen cooperation between the two countries over the past 1,5 years. Iran's foreign ministry expressed its gratitude to the Georgian government and relevant agencies for their participation in the bilateral effort this week.