Spain announces woman detained by Iran has been freed

Spanish FM says Ana Baneira doing well after being released from custody and on her way home; adds ‘our happiness will be complete’ when another detained citizen is freed

By AFP 26 February 2023, 2:38 pm Edit
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares arrives for a meeting of Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on February 20, 2023. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares arrives for a meeting of Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on February 20, 2023. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)

MARID — Iran has released a Spanish woman who had been detained in the country since November, Spain’s foreign minister said Sunday.

“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 she was on her way to northwestern Spain, where she is from.

The woman, Ana Baneira, was 24 years old when she was arrested, 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 as the country was rocked by protests after the death of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

Another Spanish citizen, soccer fan Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, has been held since October, when he was arrested while trying to hike to Qatar for the World Cup.

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

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