ROME — An Italian journalist has been arrested by Iranian police while conducting reports in Tehran, as confirmed by the foreign ministry of Italy on Friday.
Cecilia Sala was taken into custody on December 19 while she was in Iran’s capital, and the ministry has stated that it is currently engaging with Iranian officials to understand the legal circumstances surrounding her detention and to assess her conditions.
Sala works for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, which indicates she is being held at Tehran’s Evin prison. According to the publication, Sala was visiting Iran on a standard visa to cover stories in a country she has an appreciation for.
The editor of Il Foglio, Claudio Cerasa, expressed his concern through a statement on Friday, emphasizing that “journalism is not a crime” and called for her immediate return to Italy.
The foreign ministry reported that Sala managed to make two phone calls to her family while in custody. On Friday, Italy’s ambassador to Iran, Paola Amadei, visited her in prison, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani affirmed that she is “in good health.”
While Iran has yet to officially confirm Sala’s detention, it is common for the authorities to take significant time before announcing such arrests.
Historically, since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, Iran has used individuals with connections to the West as leverage in diplomatic negotiations.
For instance, in September 2023, the release of five American detainees took place, coinciding with an exchange involving five Iranians held by the United States and the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian assets which had been held by South Korea.
There have also been instances in the past where Western journalists faced similar fates. American journalist Roxana Saberi was detained for nearly 100 days in 2009, while Jason Rezaian from the Washington Post was incarcerated for over 540 days, ultimately being released in 2016 during a prisoner exchange between Iran and the U.S.
Both these cases revolved around allegations of espionage made by Iran in secretive trials, showcasing the complex relationship between journalism and political maneuvering in the region.
