Minister inquires about three Sri Lankans serving a 15-year prison sentence in Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani government has focused its attention on securing the release of three Sri Lankans who are serving a 15-year prison sentence in Azerbaijan after falling victim to a fraud by a fake employment agent. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that this agreement was reached as a result of a special discussion held between Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Hon. Vijitha Herath, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

During his visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Minister met with the President of Azerbaijan and revealed the facts regarding this matter. The Minister highlighted the unfortunate situation faced by these three Sri Lankans, who include a married couple and another individual.

The dream of foreign employment was the root cause of this incident. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these three individuals paid a large sum of money to a Sri Lankan living in Azerbaijan, believing his promise to secure jobs in that country while posing as an employment agent. However, trusting that promise, they traveled to Azerbaijan only to face an unexpected situation. The fake employment agent who took their money disappeared, abandoning them.

Later, on another day, these three individuals met the fake employment agent again, and the ensuing disruptions and heated exchange of words escalated into an assault. Due to that incident, in 2022, Azerbaijani authorities arrested and imprisoned these three Sri Lankans. They have now been sentenced to 15 years in prison, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the fake employment agent in question has disappeared again since the incident.

Minister Vijitha Herath requested the Azerbaijani authorities to provide relief to the Sri Lankans who were imprisoned due to being victims of fraud and to facilitate their release. Responding positively to this request, the Azerbaijani authorities have now agreed to review the relevant case again.