Spaniard imprisoned in Iran after visiting grave of Mahsa Amini arrives home after release

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish man who spent 15 months in an Iranian prison after visiting the tomb of Mahsa Amini has returned home to Madrid after being released. Santiago Sánchez Cogedor was on a solo walking trek to the men’s soccer World Cup in Qatar when he was arrested in Iran in October 2022. His arrest followed his visit to the tomb of Amini, a woman whose death while being held by Iran’s morality police for violating Iran’s Islamic dress code sparked protests in the country. Sánchez Coredor was embraced by family and friends at Madrid’s airport. He says “we have no idea how fortunate we are to have been born in his country.”