2nd Spaniard arrested in Iran amid street protests

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish woman has been arrested in Iran, the second Spaniard in just over a month to be detained there amid mass unrest, Spain’s foreign ministry said Thursday.

The Spanish embassy in Tehran is following the case and is in touch with the family of 24-year-old Ana Baneira, the foreign ministry said. It declined to provide further details.

The embassy is also dealing with the case of a Spanish man who was trekking from Madrid to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup when he is believed to have been arrested in Iran early last month.

Spanish diplomats are in touch with Iranian authorities about 41-year-old trekker Santiago Sanchez, according to the foreign ministry.

The Iranian protests were triggered by the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman after her detention by the country’s morality police. The outcry has developed into a challenge to the nation’s theocracy.

At least 328 people have been killed and 14,825 others arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests.