Santiago Sánchez Cogedor was accused of espionage by the Iranian regime after taking a photograph in front of Mahsa Amini's grave last year.
ADVERTISEMENTSantiago Sánchez Cogedor, a 42-year-old Spanish man who was arrested while travelling through Iran to attend the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, landed in Madrid on Tuesday after being released from an Iranian prison.
The Spaniard, who spent 15 months in prison, was arrested while visiting the grave of Mahsa Amini, a woman whose death in the custody of Iran's morality police for allegedly violating Iran's Islamic dress code sparked fierce protests throughout the country.
"I can't believe it. It was very hard, but I am here. We have no idea how lucky we are to have been born in his country," Santiago Sánchez Cogedor told a group of reporters at the airport after being embraced by family and friends on his arrival.
Sánchez Cogedor was on a solo trek to the men's World Cup in Qatar when he was arrested in Iran in October 2022.
After taking a photograph in front of Amini's grave, he was accused of espionage by the Iranian regime, but no charges were ever brought against him.
He remained behind bars until the Iranian embassy in Spain announced his release on Sunday.
Sánchez Cogedor had walked all the way from Spain to Qatar to support the Spanish national team at the world's biggest football event.
Sánchez Cogedor said he would not comment on politics, but he read to reporters what he called a diploma given to him by his fellow prisoners in Iran, saying he had "passed the test of life" and all the challenges along the way, such as the harsh isolation and difficult conditions in prison.
Deprived of freedom for 15 months
After more than a year without seeing their son, Sánchez Cogedor's parents were visibly moved.
They told the press that the most difficult time had been the first month after their son's arrest when he was completely isolated and they were unable to contact him.
His mother thanked the Spanish ambassador to Iran, Ángel Losada, and said that without his work her son would not have returned home: "Ángel, thank you, you will be one of the people I will keep in my heart".
Sánchez Cogedor said that he wanted to use this ordeal to help others and assured that he felt ready for his next adventure, which will probably be in Africa.