Santiago Sánchez Cogedor, the Spaniard imprisoned in Iran since October 2022 and released on Sunday by the Iranian Government, is now in Spain. Upon his arrival at Barajas airport, he explained that the authorities accused him of espionage and that the death penalty was hanging over his head, which is why his stay in prison has been “very hard.” Family and friends were waiting for him at the terminal. The young man has acknowledged that he feels “very confused” by the latest events but has appeared very happy and smiling while he hugged his loved ones one by one.
“I don't believe it, it has been very long, very hard, but I am here, I am in my country,” he celebrated, after being asked about his condition following his release announced on Sunday by the Iranian Government. “We don't know how lucky we are to have been born in this country,” he said. “I have been facing a possible death sentence for 15 months, which no one knows about,” he said regarding his time in prison, after explaining that in Iran espionage is punishable by a death sentence. “I ate it with potatoes, eating my fingers,” he admitted, preferring to keep what he experienced to himself.
“Those things are mine, because harboring hatred and resentment is not good,” he defended, explaining that his stay in prison has allowed him to realize that “in life you have to unlearn many things.” In this way he has revealed the charges against him, since until now neither the Iranian authorities nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had gone into specific details about the circumstances of his arrest.
Arrested in October
Santiago Sánchez Cogedor was arrested in early October 2022 when he was heading on foot to Qatar to watch the World Cup after visiting the grave of Mahsa Amini, the young woman who died in custody after being arrested for allegedly wearing the Islamic veil incorrectly. Her mother, Celia Cogedor, explained shortly before her arrival that her son was tricked into going to the grave at a time when the country was the scene of violent protests over the young woman's death.
Like his mother, Santiago Sánchez has had words of gratitude towards the Spanish ambassador to Iran, Ángel Losada, “who has been a true phenomenon.” “He has done a master's degree in negotiation,” he highlighted, emphasizing that “it is very difficult to negotiate with these people,” in reference to the Iranian authorities.
According to him, when he was released on December 31, he spent New Year's Eve with the ambassador and his family. “It was a unique, unforgettable experience,” she said, thanking them for opening the doors and for the humane gesture they had with him.
“It is likely that I will return to Iran even though you told me 'don't come',” he indicated, referring to the message that the ambassador would have conveyed to him. “You don't have to say no to me, you have to say yes to me,” he added, joking that the first thing he will do now in Spain is “prepare a trip to Iran.” “So that you understand that you cannot say no, you have to leave people free,” he added.
On the other hand, the young man from Madrid wanted to begin his brief statements by reading a letter written to him by the prisoners of the Evin prison where he has been held and in which they thank him for sharing with them the little he had.
«You learned to be happy with little, and you shared that little with others. “You taught us that you can enjoy the bad, and that in the end it's certainly not that bad,” the inmates tell him in the diploma they have given him and which is signed by the oldest prisoner in the prison. “You passed the exam of patience and solitude with your inner strength, respect and education with your daily perseverance,” they emphasize.
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