Kuwait handed over 47 Iranian prisoners to the Islamic republic under a bilateral prisoner exchange agreement, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
DUBAI (Sputnik) It noted that the decision was carried outunder the terms ofa bilateral agreement betweenthe two countries. Tehran and Kuwait City agreed toimplement a prisoner exchange agreement signed years ago last February.
"The State ofKuwaits commitment tothe charter ofhuman rights and international conventions and underthe guidance of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al Khalid Al Sabah issued a decree extraditing nationals ofthe Islamic Republic ofIran numbering 47," the ministry said.
Kuwait expelled the Iranian ambassador and withdrew its envoy fromTehran inshow ofsupport forSaudi Arabia, which severed diplomatic ties withIran inJanuary. The spat came inresponse toattacks onSaudi diplomatic missions inTehran and Mashhad, triggered bythe execution ofa prominent Shiite cleric inRiyadh.
By Sputnik