1 of 5 Sánchez arriving in Madrid Photo: EPA via BBC Sánchez arriving in Madrid Photo: EPA via BBC
Santiago Sánchez Cogedor has always liked adventure, but says his “really adventurous” spirit was awakened during a trip to Brazil in 2018.
“I visited favelas and volunteered at an orphanage. I traveled with a backpack through part of South America, often sleeping in local families' houses,” he says in an interview with BBC News Mundo, the BBC's Spanishlanguage service.
The 42yearold Spaniard never imagined his latest adventure would turn into his worst nightmare.
In January 2022, he decided to walk from Madrid to Qatar to watch the World Cup.
But his plans were thwarted when he was arrested in Iran on espionage charges.
He spent 14 months in a feared maximum security prison called Evin, which has been the subject of numerous complaints of serious human rights abuses.
“I’ve been through things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” he says.
Sánchez had already visited Iran in 2020 and was therefore not afraid of returning to the country.
“I went from Madrid to Saudi Arabia to watch the Spanish Super Cup that was being held in that country and to see my soccer team, Real Madrid,” he says.
He crossed 15 countries in four months. After reaching his final destination, he decided to visit other Middle Eastern countries including Kuwait, Qatar and Iran.
“I was fascinated by the hospitality of the Iranians and met many people there,” he remembers.
“I had no idea there were protests”
When Santiago left Madrid for his new adventure, he estimated that it would take a year to reach Qatar.
“I had proposed a spiritual journey, in solidarity with myself and the world. I picked up trash, planted trees and dressed up as a clown in hospitals for children with cancer and other illnesses,” he says.
2 of 5 Santiago Sánchez in a center for minors with autism in Turkey Photo: SANTIAGO SÁNCHEZ via BBC Santiago Sánchez in a center for minors with autism in Turkey Photo: SANTIAGO SÁNCHEZ via BBC
While passing through Iraq, he heard that the situation in Iran was tense, but “I had no idea there was violence.”
Sánchez claims that having visited the country before, “never in my worst dreams did I think that what happened to me could happen to me.”
The police allegedly arrested the young woman because she did not adhere to the strict rules about wearing a headscarf.
Witnesses claim the young woman was beaten in a vehicle when she was arrested in Tehran.
Santiago says he doesn't know much about Mahsa Amini's case.
And he claims he was the victim of a plot in Iran.
Santiago reported that on his first visit to Iran in 2020, he met a man in the southern city of Bandar Abbas who welcomed him.
When the Iranian learned that the Spanish tourist was returning to his country, he again offered him accommodation and insisted on picking him up at the border with Iraq.
3 of 5 An image obtained by Iran's Mizan News Agency on October 16, 2022 shows the inside of a cell in the famous Iranian prison Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC An image obtained by Iran's Mizan News Agency on October 16, 2022 shows the inside of a cell in the famous Iranian prison Photo: GETTY IMAGES via BBC
“I was suspicious when he said that because he lives about 1,700 kilometers from the border where I was,” Santiago says.
“I told him, 'Hey, friend, why are you so interested in coming and looking for me? I'm really far away, aren't I?'” he recalls.
“Now that I think about it, I understand why. After Mahsa Amini’s arrest, he encouraged me to post something on Instagram with the hashtag #MahsaAmini and I always ignored his suggestions because I wasn’t interested.”
Santiago explains that the Iranian picked it up near Marivan in western Iran and brought it to Saqqez, the city where the young woman was buried.
“Through a translator on my phone, I asked him, ‘Where are we going? I thought we were going to Tehran,'” Sanchez recalls.
“He tricked me and took me to Mahsa Amini’s grave. Now I know he just wanted me to take a photo and post it on Instagram.”
Santiago says that regardless of what happened in Saqqez, he only had a photo of a grave and therefore does not understand why Iranian authorities accused him of espionage.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he says. “You should ask them (Iranian authorities) why they thought I was a spy.”
Santiago's presence attracted the attention of a group of Iranian intelligence agents, who approached him, took him to a car, took his belongings, blindfolded him and took him to a police station.
4 of 5 Entrance to Evin Prison in Tehran Photo: Portal via BBC Entrance to Evin Prison in Tehran Photo: Portal via BBC
“When they stopped me, I thought it was a joke.”
He spent 42 days isolated in a small cell and was under “great pressure” due to police interrogations.
“I think they knew I wasn’t a spy, but they kept interrogating me.”
He was then transferred to another prison in Saqqez, where he met with the Spanish ambassador to Iran, Ángel Losada, who advocated for the transfer of Santiago to the Iranian capital.
The Iranian authorities then decided to send him to Evin Prison.
He was only allowed to speak to his family on the phone three months after his arrest.
“It is a lie that I was allowed to contact my family via Skype. I don’t know where this story comes from.”
The prison opened in 1971 and is now a symbol of the authoritarianism of the government of Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's supreme leader.
It is located in Tehran's Evin district and is constantly criticized by human rights groups.
According to Human Rights Watch, prison officials resort to the threat of torture and indefinite detention. The organization claims that prisoners lack access to medical care and are subjected to lengthy interrogations.
A group of hackers calling themselves Edalate Ali released videos of leaked surveillance footage from Evin Prison in August 2021 that showed guards beating or abusing inmates.
The prison houses a large number of political prisoners, journalists and many foreign citizens or dual nationals.
“Since I was released from Evin Prison, I have been unable to sleep without the help of medication,” said Human Rights Watch.
“You even talk to ants”
In Evin, Santiago spent “41 or 42 days” in solitary confinement.
“It was very difficult. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy,” he says, adding that he wants to use the “pain and suffering” these memories caused him to help other people.
“I don’t hold any grudges,” he says.
“Iran took away my freedom, but it gave me time to take a journey within myself, visiting dark places and trying to grow as a person.”
He claims they almost always treated him “nicely.”
In Evin, Santiago used his time to contribute to the prison community.
“I gave Spanish and boxing lessons, organized soccer tournaments, set up a volleyball network and invited all the prisoners to play sports,” he says.
“The Evin prisoners became my family. They treated me like a guest. They experienced a lot of suffering and pain, but also a lot of hospitality.”
He also recalled the “inhumane” conditions in parts of the prison.
“Sector 209 in Evin is one of the most horrific places I have ever seen. It should be forbidden to keep a person in a cell without a toilet, from which they are blindfolded and taken to a courtyard for ten minutes once a week.”
“I want to ask Iran: Why did they cause me so much suffering when I was just a tourist with good memories of this country?”
Santiago suspects that Sector 209 is being used to pressure prisoners to confess “if they have something to say.”
“This part of Evin creates suffering that comes from another planet. I even talked to the ants there, but this suffering is mine.”
“All I know is that I am innocent and I was locked up in a prison for 15 months where there are no human rights.”
“It was 15 months of pressure under the threat of possible life imprisonment or death because spies in Iran could be hanged.”
Santiago says that now he only wants to keep good memories and forget the bad things that happened. Your goal is to overcome the past in order to move on with your life.
5 of 5 Santiago Sánchez on the day of his arrival in Spain Photo: Portal via BBC Santiago Sánchez on the day of his arrival in Spain Photo: Portal via BBC
“My mother read an article that said I wanted to return to Iran, which is a lie, and almost fainted.”
“My head is still in Iran”
When asked about the Iranians arrested for taking part in the protests against the death of Mahsa Amini, some of whom he met in Evin, he says that “everyone is fighting for what they have to fight for.”
“The Iranian will fight for the freedom of his country and we Spaniards will fight for everything we have to fight for (…) I'm not saying it's good or bad.”
Upon his arrival at Madrid airport on January 2, Santiago Sánchez was greeted by his family and friends with applause, smiles and a few tears.
“We don’t know how lucky we are to be born in Spain,” he says.
“The simple fact of waking up and being able to walk freely… I won't say anything more. For those who understand, a few words are enough.”
He does not know the reason for his release and believes that despite his innocence, he could have remained imprisoned in Iran for another “two or five years.”
The Spanish adventurer guarantees that he has regained his freedom, but has not yet fully recovered his sanity. “My body is in Spain, but my mind is still in Iran.”
He sees his release as a new chance in life.
“In life everything happens for a reason and the biggest limitations are in the mind. I will use this pain to better myself.”