Spanish football fan held in Tehran released, Iran says
The embassy of Iran in Spain has announced the release of Santiago Sánchez, a Spanish football enthusiast who was apprehended while on a journey from Madrid to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for men.
The statement from the Iranian embassy attributed Mr. Sánchez’s release to the “friendly and historical relations” between the two countries.
All communication with Mr. Sánchez was lost as he approached the final stretch of his expedition. Reports from Spanish media indicate that he was detained after visiting the grave of Mahsa Amini.
Ms. Amini had tragically passed away in custody after being arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly not wearing her hijab appropriately. Her death triggered widespread protests in Iran and beyond in 2022, with many Iranians defying a lethal crackdown by security forces.
Before his disappearance in October 2022, Mr. Sánchez had been diligently sharing updates on each segment of his extensive journey through social media.
A former paratrooper and devoted Real Madrid supporter, he initiated the expedition in January 2022, traversing Europe, Turkey, and Iraq before being held in Iran for over a year.
In a post on social media the day before he went silent, Mr Sánchez shared a series of photos with the caption: “Last village in northern Iraq, a mountain separates me from reaching Iran, the next country before reaching Qatar”.
At the time of Mr Sánchez’s detention, his friend Francho Salamanca told the BBC: “He has been arrested and he is now in a Tehran prison”.
He said his friend had been upbeat about travelling through Iran, and had done a similar journey to get to Saudi Arabia in 2019.
Mr Sánchez began – and then postponed – a hunger strike in detention in September, Spain’s ABC broadcaster reported. Relatives were quoted saying he postponed the protest after the prison director said he could see a doctor for his toothaches.
News of his whereabouts came after weeks of mounting concern from his family and friends.
In the same statement on social media, the Iranian embassy in Spain said Mr Sánchez was the only Spanish national held in Iran.
Ana Baneira Suarez, a Spanish activist who worked for a human rights NGO, was arrested in Tehran in November 2022 – but released the following February.
