Simon Hunter
A SECOND Spaniard has been detained in Iran, as unrest and protests against the government in the Middle Eastern country continue.
Ana Baneira Suárez, who is 24 and from the northwestern Galicia region, went missing several days ago. According to the human rights agency Hrana, Baneira has been jailed, although her exact whereabouts are still unknown.
“During the nationwide protests, security forces arrested at least two Spanish nationals who are still in detention,” Hrana wrote in a statement on its webpage.
The first Spaniard to be detained in the country was Santiago Sánchez, a 41-year-old “who was arrested in Saqqez after visiting Mahsa Amini’s burial place”, Hrana added, in reference to the Iranian woman who died in police custody at the end of September after being arrested for not wearing a veil. It was the death of Amini that sparked the ongoing protests in Iran.
Sánchez disappeared on October 2 after having entered Iran on foot. He was trying to walk from Madrid to Qatar in time for the upcoming World Cup.
However, on October 26 news outlet Iran International confirmed that he had been arrested and he remains in custody.
Sources from the Spanish Foreign Ministry have confirmed to Spanish media outlets that they are aware of two Spaniards who have been detained in Iran, but provided no details of the location or whereabouts of Baneira.
News agency Reuters reported that the young Spaniard, who until recently worked for Galician bank Abanca, was arrested after joining the protests over Amini’s death.
Read more:
- Missing Spanish football fan trying to walk to Qatar may have been arrested in Iran
- Catalan police begin investigation into disappearance of British rugby player Levi Davis in Spain
