Santiago Sánchez Cogedor and Ana Baneira, two Spanish citizens, have been arrested in Iran after being in the country during the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody.
This was stated this Thursday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, who has assured that Spanish diplomacy is working "intensely" to resolve "as soon as possible" the situation of the two arrested, despite not revealing his identity for reasons of "privacy".
According to reports, one of those arrested is Santiago Sánchez Cogedor, a 41-year-old man who was arrested on his way to Qatar on foot to watch the World Cup after visiting the grave of Mahsa Amini. Initially, his disappearance was announced, but days later it was confirmed that he was being held in a prison in Iran. His mother stated that the man was "fine".
The second arrested is Ana Baneira, a 24-year-old woman whose arrest was revealed this Wednesday by a Kurdish NGO and the circumstances of her arrest are unknown at the moment. However, the Iranian NGO for the defense of human rights HRANA has already advanced that, "during the protests at the national level (in Iran), the security forces arrested at least two Spanish citizens who continue to be detained", referring to Santiago Sánchez and Ana Baneira.
For his part, José Manuel Albares has also pointed out from Brussels that he has given direct instructions to the Spanish ambassador in Tehran to deal with the situation "as a priority". In fact, he has already held meetings at different levels of the Iranian Ministry of the Interior to address the case.
Protests continue in Iran over the death at the end of September of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl who lost her life while in police custody after being arrested for allegedly wearing the Islamic veil incorrectly. Dozens of people have died during the repression of the protests by the Iranian authorities, who have also arrested several foreigners, including the two Spaniards.
