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INTERNATIONAL

Iran arrests Spanish woman taking part in protests

A Spanish woman is being held in Iran following the arrest of a Spanish football fan who set out to walk to the World Cup in Qatar, a diplomatic source said Thursday.

Published: 10 November 2022 16:19 CET
IRAN-PROTEST-WOMEN-SPANISH
A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows an Iranian police officer (C) raising a baton to disperse demonstrators during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran on September 19, 2022. (Photo by AFP)

“The Spanish embassy in Iran is aware of the two cases. It is following them and we are in close contact with the families”, the Spanish diplomatic source said, without providing further details.

The second Spaniard was identified as a 24-year-old woman by US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

It said on Wednesday that “an informed source close to her family told HRANA that she was arrested in recent days.”

Last month, the mother of Santiago Sánchez Cogedor said her son was being “held in Iran” after he dropped out of contact for several weeks.

Cogedor left his hometown near Madrid in January, hoping to make the epic journey on foot in time for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20th.

Iran has been gripped by weeks of protests and a deadly crackdown after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody. She had been arrested by the notorious morality police for allegedly breaching the country’s dress code for women.

The Spanish national arrested in the last few days, who is called Ana Baneira, was detained after taking part in the demonstrations.

In September, Iranian authorities announced the arrest of nine other foreigners, including from Poland, Italy and France, allegedly in connection with the protest movement.

Rome announced that an Italian woman arrested at the end of September had been released on Thursday “after intense diplomatic work” and was preparing to return home.

The families of foreigners detained in Iran often choose to keep a low profile in the hope of securing their release.

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INTERNATIONAL

Iran frees Spanish woman detained since end 2022: Madrid

Iran has released a Spanish woman, Ana Baneira, who had been in detention since November, Spain's foreign minister said on Sunday.

Published: 26 February 2023 14:24 CET
Iran frees Spanish woman detained since end 2022: Madrid

“She was freed yesterday but we didn’t want to announce it publicly before her plane had taken off from Iran,” Jose Manuel Albares told journalists.

“I was able to speak with her… She is well,” he said, adding that Baneira was on her way to her home region of Galicia, in northwestern Spain, following her release on Saturday.

Baneira was 24 years old when she was arrested in November, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) revealed at the time.

The circumstances of her detention were never confirmed by Iranian authorities.

However, it took place amid protests that followed the death in custody of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested by the morality police in September for allegedly violating Iran’s the strict dress code for women.

Her death in hospital three days later triggered widespread outrage.

Another Spanish citizen, football fan Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, has been in detention in Iran since October.

He was arrested while trying to walk to Qatar for the football World Cup.

“Today is a happy day and our happiness will be complete when Santiago is also freed,” said Albares, adding that he would not stop trying to secure Cogedor’s release.

Baneira’s family said they were delighted she had been freed and looked forward to seeing her again “after long weeks of waiting”.

They urged the media to give Baneira space and privacy.

Tehran says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which they generally describe as “riots”.

In late September, the Iranian authorities said they had arrested nine foreigners in relation to the protests, most of them from France, Italy and Poland.

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