January 2nd 2024.
Santiago Sanchez, a Spanish national, was reported missing in October 2022 while he was walking from Spain to Qatar to attend the World Cup. After his social media update went dark while he was entering Iran from Iraq, it was discovered that he was being held on suspicion of espionage offences. His arrest came around the time of the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, which caused worldwide outrage and protests against the Iranian state.
On Tuesday, a jubilant Santiago Sanchez returned home to Madrid's Barajas Airport. He expressed his gratitude to be in Spain and thanked the Spanish foreign office for their efforts. In a post on Twitter, Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares wrote: "Today, happiness is complete. Finally Santiago will be very soon reunited with his family and friends in Spain."
Santiago had been documenting his journey on his Instagram page, logging countries such as Italy, Greece, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Turkey. But his last post was sent on October 1 while he was in Northern Iraq before crossing the border into Iran.
The World Cup was played out in November and December 2022 but without Santiago being there to cheer on Spain, who reached the round of 16. It was later announced by Spain's foreign office on New Year's Eve that Santiago had been released by Iranian authorities sometime in December.
At the airport, Santiago was welcomed by a crowd of well-wishers, including his mother Celia Cogedor. She described the past few months as a nightmare and expressed her gratitude to the Spanish authorities for their efforts. Finally, the nightmare had ended.
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