Last Tuesday the 2nd he returned to his home in Alcalá de Henares, MadridSantiago Sánchez Cogedor, a Spanish adventurer who spent the last 15 months detained in a prison in Iran accused of espionage.
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Former military man, athlete and adventurer, Sánchez Cogedor had already experienced an exceptional adventure in 2019 when he walked from his country to Saudi Arabia to attend the definition of the Spanish Super Cup.
Regarding the celebration of the Soccer World Cup in Qatar, on January 8, 2022, he embarked on a new adventure, this time the destination being the small and luxurious emirate. In addition, he planned to complement his trip by planting about 2,000 trees along his path and helping the communities that would welcome him along his journey.
By October 2, just under two months before the tournament began, Sánchez Cogedor entered the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was the last destination before Qatar. Three years earlier he had already set foot on Iranian soil although that time the situation was different.
– A confusing arrest –
The death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in custody after being detained for not wearing a veil, sparked historic anti-government demonstrations on September 14 of that year. The Iranian streets saw unprecedented protests that ended up being silenced by strong repression.
Sánchez Cogedor, aware of the dangers, wrote that day to his friends and family that the situation “it was hot”. It was the last message they received from him.
A few days later it was learned that Sánchez Cogedor had been detained by the Iranian authorities. He had apparently visited Amini’s grave. “I still don’t really know why they detained me, if it was a trap that an Iranian boy set for me or what happened, but I’m not interested either, I want to leave it behind. I know that they arrested me for possible espionage, which could lead to a death sentence.”, he said this Sunday the 7th in an interview with the EFE agency.
“When they arrested me and 72 hours passed, I thought they would release me, as would have happened in Spain, but I was detained for fifteen months without going before a judge.”, he assured.
As a friend of Sánchez Cogedor revealed to the newspaper El Mundo in February 2023, the adventurer would have met a group of Iranians at the border who welcomed him and “They take him to the grave of the murdered girl (Amini)”.
“I arrived in the country and this boy came from Kurdistan, northern Iraq, from 1,700 kilometers away. It seemed very strange to me that he came from so far away for me. It was a trap. He took me to a town and we took a photo there, then the arrest came”he explained on Sunday.
– In hell itself –
Whatever the reason, the truth is that the Islamic authorities detected something suspicious enough about the adventurer to arrest him and send him for the next 40 days to an intelligence service detention center in the province of East Azerbaijan.
It was almost two months after his arrest that the Spanish diplomatic corps in Iran managed to reach Sánchez Cogedor. According to El Mundo, ambassador Ángel Losada had to travel this route with a special operations group to find his compatriot.
Diplomatic efforts managed to have the adventurer transferred to Tehran, although conditions did not improve much. “I was in a small room of one square meter. There was no bathroom and there was an LED light on the ceiling 24 hours a day. If I wanted to go to the bathroom I had to call the intercom: ‘please toilet’. The guards laughed. There was a day when I literally shit myself,” He narrated in an audio that he managed to send to a friend and was broadcast by the Iberian media.
The nightmare lasted at least a year for Sánchez Cogedor. After that period of time he obtained certain benefits for good behavior. The media reported that in this new prison regime they allowed him to communicate with his family, in his statements on Sunday, however, he assures that he was not able to speak to anyone.
“It is very likely that (the forces) were sent to me by people who are not here, but in heaven. They are people who, being in that small cell, I saw them and they sent me strength,” he noted. “I couldn’t talk to the people who cared about me from Spain, he was totally cut off. I got to talk to the ants in the cell. That was very hard”.
– An angel and freedom –
For Sánchez Cogedor, Ambassador Losada, who also ended up being instrumental in his subsequent release, is a “Guardian angel”. “Thanks to him I am now free. If it weren’t for his work, I would still be confined there.”, he assured.
“From here, I thank you for getting me brought to justice, doing the trial theater that they do, because they knew perfectly well that I am not a spy, and weeks later they released me”, he adds in reference to the decision announced last week by the Iranian embassy in Spain.
“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is pleased to report the release of Santiago Sánchez Cogedor, the only Spanish citizen imprisoned in Iran. His release is carried out within the framework of friendly and historical relations between the two countries and in compliance with laws“said the statement released by the said diplomatic office on the social network X.
For Sánchez Cogedor, who was received by family and friends in Alcalá, the episode must be left behind because “All the damage and pain they have caused me helps me become a better person. I have also learned that we have to enjoy the moment, that there are many things to do in life and we cannot waste a single day.”.