Italy says working to free journalist under arrest in Iran for over a week

Cecilia Sala, 29, who works for Il Foglio and Chora Media, was arrested in Tehran on December 19, authorities said.

An Italian journalist has been arrested by police in Iran, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, and the government is making efforts to bring her home.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested by police in Tehran on December 19, officials said, but her arrest was only made public on Friday. She works for newspaper Il Foglio and for podcast company Chora Media.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement that it was “working with the Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala’s legal situation and to verify the conditions of her detention”.

“The Italian Embassy and Consulate in Tehran have been following the case with the utmost attention since the very beginning,” the ministry added.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto – a key figure in Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government – said on the social media platform X that the arrest was “unacceptable”.

“Italy is working tirelessly to free her, pursuing every option,” he said.

There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest by Iranian officials.

#FreeCecilia pic.twitter.com/idnzNW3oAJ

— Chora Media (@Chora_Media) December 27, 2024

Sala was able to make two phone calls since she was arrested and held in the Evin jail in Tehran, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Chora Media said in a separate statement that Sala was being held in solitary confinement at Evin, and that no reason had been given for her arrest.

“Her free voice has been silenced, and neither Italy nor Europe can tolerate this arbitrary arrest. Cecilia Sala must be freed immediately,” Chora said.

According to Chora, Sala had left Rome for Iran on December 12 with a valid journalist visa and “the protection of a journalist on assignment”. Sala had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her, Stories, podcast, it added. She had been due to fly back to Rome on December 20.

It was not clear whether Sala’s case might be linked to tensions between Rome and Tehran after Iran last week summoned a senior Italian diplomat and the Swiss ambassador, who represents US interests in the country, over the arrest of two Iranian nationals. One of the men was arrested in Italy at Washington’s request.

Italy’s ambassador to Iran visited Sala in prison on Friday and the journalist has also been in phone contact with her family, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Italian sources with knowledge of the matter said she was “very tired” but “physically fine”, the Reuters news agency reported.

Chora said news of Sala’s arrest was not immediately made public as her family and Italian authorities had hoped that keeping it quiet could help secure her swift release.

Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, urged the government to act swiftly.

“We immediately call on the government to take every useful initiative to shed light on this matter, to clarify the reasons for this detention and, above all, to bring Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible,” she said.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies