Tehran: The Iranian authorities have released a Spanish woman imprisoned for three months on charges of espionage after her arrest during anti-government protests.
24-year-old Ana Baneira Suarez, a Spanish civil activist, who had been imprisoned in Iran since November 2022, was released on Saturday, February 25.
“Ana Baneira was released yesterday, but we didn’t want to make it public before her plane took off from Iran,” the Spanish foreign minister said, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Sunday.
Protests in Iran continue
Iran has been rocked by sweeping protests since September 16, over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Her death has since ignited anger over several issues, including the restrictions imposed on personal freedoms and strict rules regarding women’s clothing, as well as the living and economic crisis that Iranians suffer from, not to mention the strict laws imposed by the regime and its political and religious composition in general.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) announced that 530 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Monday, February 20, including 71 children.
At least 19,763 people, including 723 students, were arrested in those protests that took place in 165 cities and towns and 144 universities.
