In a press conference on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani described the release of a Spanish national detained in Iran as a “humane” step.
Santiago Sanchez, the Spanish national, was handed over to officials of the Spanish Embassy in Tehran and was expected to depart for Madrid shortly thereafter, according to the semi-official SNN news agency.
The Iranian Embassy in Madrid also confirmed Sanchez’s release in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
Spain’s foreign ministry reported Sanchez missing in October 2022 after he embarked on a journey to walk to Qatar to attend the World Cup.
The last communication from the 41-year-old Sanchez was on Oct. 1, 2022, when he sent friends a picture of himself at the Iraq-Iran border with the caption “Entry to Iran.”
In November, the activist HRANA news agency reported the arrest of at least two Spanish nationals by Iranian security forces during nationwide protests that began in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. The two individuals were identified as Sanchez and 24-year-old Ana Baneira, who was released in February 2023 according to the Spanish Foreign ministry.
When asked about Sanchez’s release, Kanaani stated that it was carried out “with regard to human mercy and legal proceedings.”
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Additional reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
