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INTERNATIONAL

Spain summons Iran ambassador over protests crackdown

Spain summoned the Iranian ambassador Wednesday to express its opposition to the heavy-handed crackdown on mass demonstrations across Iran that have claimed dozens of lives, a diplomatic source said.

Spain summons Iran ambassador over protests crackdown
A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows people gathering during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran on September 19, 2022. - Fresh protests broke out on September 19 in Iran over the death of a young woman who had been arrested by the "morality police" that enforces a strict dress code, local media reported. Public anger has grown since authorities on Friday announced the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in a hospital after three days in a coma, following her arrest by Tehran's morality police during a visit to the capital on September 13. (Photo by AFP)

The protests erupted nearly two weeks ago over the death of a young Kurdish woman in custody who had allegedly fallen foul of Iran’s strict rules on headscarves and modest clothing.

“The foreign ministry has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Madrid to express its objection over the repression of the protests and the violation of women’s rights,” the source said.

The woman, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was visiting Tehran with her family, died after receiving a “violent blow to the head,” her cousin told AFP.

In a statement, the ministry expressed Spain’s “absolute condemnation” of the violence against peaceful demonstrators and in particular its “abhorrence of the violence against Iranian woman and their rights”.

It urged the Iranian authorities to carry out “an independent investigation (into the bloodshed) and to establish responsibility in a transparent, objective and thorough manner” while “ending all arbitrary arrests” of journalists and other citizens exercising their civic freedoms.

Despite the fact the crackdown has drawn condemnation from around the world, Iran’s police said Wednesday they would continue to act against the protesters “with all their might”.

So far, “around 60 people” have been killed since Amini’s death on September 16th, Fars news agency said on Tuesday, a day after officials confirmed they had made more than 1,200 arrests, among them activists, lawyers and journalists.

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INTERNATIONAL

Iran frees Spanish woman detained since end 2022: Madrid

Iran has released a Spanish woman, Ana Baneira, who had been in detention since November, Spain's foreign minister said on Sunday.

Iran frees Spanish woman detained since end 2022: Madrid

“She was freed yesterday but we didn’t want to announce it publicly before her plane had taken off from Iran,” Jose Manuel Albares told journalists.

“I was able to speak with her… She is well,” he said, adding that Baneira was on her way to her home region of Galicia, in northwestern Spain, following her release on Saturday.

Baneira was 24 years old when she was arrested in November, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) revealed at the time.

The circumstances of her detention were never confirmed by Iranian authorities.

However, it took place amid protests that followed the death in custody of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested by the morality police in September for allegedly violating Iran’s the strict dress code for women.

Her death in hospital three days later triggered widespread outrage.

Another Spanish citizen, football fan Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, has been in detention in Iran since October.

He was arrested while trying to walk to Qatar for the football World Cup.

“Today is a happy day and our happiness will be complete when Santiago is also freed,” said Albares, adding that he would not stop trying to secure Cogedor’s release.

Baneira’s family said they were delighted she had been freed and looked forward to seeing her again “after long weeks of waiting”.

They urged the media to give Baneira space and privacy.

Tehran says hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which they generally describe as “riots”.

In late September, the Iranian authorities said they had arrested nine foreigners in relation to the protests, most of them from France, Italy and Poland.

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