Azerbaijani crew members of ship that crashed in Tunisia released

The Azerbaijani crew members of the ship that crashed in Tunisia have been released, Report informs, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

On April 16, 2022, the ship Xelo sailing under the flag of Equatorial Guinea near the city of Gabes, Republic of Tunisia, crashed due to adverse weather conditions.

Two of the seven crew members - Safarov Fadail Ahmed oglu and Panahli Ali Mirza oglu - were the citizens of Azerbaijan.

The ship's crew members have been detained by the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Tunisia since that day in order to investigate the incident and give a legal assessment.

In order to provide the necessary consular assistance to Azerbaijani citizens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan addressed official requests to the relevant state bodies of the Republic of Tunisia, meetings were held in the appropriate state bodies of the Republic of Tunisia, and the detained crew members of the ship were visited.

At the same time, the company that owns the ship was contacted, and negotiations were held on the issue of providing legal and financial assistance to Azerbaijan's citizens in a difficult situation.

On August 10, 2022, a decision was made to release the crew members of the crashed ship at the last court session held at the Gabes City Primary Court. On August 21, 2022, Azerbaijani citizens left the territory of the Republic of Tunisia.

The government of the Republic of Azerbaijan will continue to take necessary measures to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, regardless of where they are, in accordance with the national legislation and international agreements that the state is a party to.