MONITORING (SW) – Iran has ordered arrest of refugees in the country charged with illegally entering Iran, confirmed an official.
Iranian officials have said they will expel illegal immigrants from the country from today onward.
Majid Mir Ahmadi, Iran’s deputy interior minister, said he had ordered police to arrest refugees who had entered the country illegally. According to the Iranian media, Ahmadi said that those who employed illegal immigrants in Iran would be jailed for three to six months and would be fined.
Iran’s deputy interior minister has said the convicts will be fined five times the amount paid to an illegal worker in a single day.
Iran recently began the registration process for illegal immigrants, which ended ten days ago, but was extended for a second time, but it expired yesterday.
According to Iranian media, between 4.3 million and 4.5 million legal and illegal Afghan refugees are currently living in Iran.
With the collapse of the republican system in Afghanistan, the legal and illegal movement of Afghan refugees to neighboring countries, especially Iran, has increased.
Meanwhile, a number of media outlets have also reported on the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in Iran by police and security personnel.
ENDS
