Italy demands release of journalist detained by Iran

Italy has demanded that Iran release a journalist who has been in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for more than a week.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that she wanted to bring reporter Cecilia Sala “home as quickly as possible.”

The 29-year-old, who works for the daily newspaper Il Foglio and runs a podcast, was arrested by police in Tehran on December 19.

She was actually due to fly back to Italy the following day. It is not yet clear exactly what she is being charged with. EU foreign policy chief Antonio Tajani asked for restraint in reporting on the case.

Sala is considered an expert on Iran and has been to the country several times. She is best known in Italy for her podcast, and she has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram.

According to Italian officials, she had a journalist’s visa to work in Iran for her current stay.

According to the Italian Foreign Ministry, Sala has only been able to make one phone call to her mother and another to her partner, who is also a journalist.

In the conversation with her partner, she reportedly assured him that she was fine. However, there are doubts as to whether she was able to speak openly.

Italy’s ambassador to Iran was able to visit her in Evin Prison on Friday. Dissidents are imprisoned there, and another Italian journalist was held there and was only released after 45 days of detention in 2022.

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