Iran arrests Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, Italy says
It has been more than a week since an Italian journalist was arrested in Iran, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
Cecilia Sala works for Il Foglio newspaper and podcast company Chora Media.
The Foreign Office said it was paying “high attention” to Ms Sala’s case since she was detained by Tehran police on December 19.
Iranian officials did not immediately confirm the arrests.
Chora Media said in a separate statement that Ms. Sala was being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison and that no reason was given for her arrest.
Rome’s ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, visited her to learn about the conditions of her detention, the Italian foreign ministry revealed, adding that she was allowed to make two phone calls to her family.
The statement also said that Italy “has been cooperating with the Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala’s legal situation.”
According to Chora Media, Ms. Sala left Rome for Iran on December 12 with a valid journalist visa and conducted multiple interviews for three episodes of the “Stories” podcast.
The statement added that she was due to fly back to Rome on December 20, but after several messages were exchanged on December 19, her phone went “silent”.
Another of Sara’s employers, Il Foglio, called for her release, saying “journalism is not a crime”.
“Cecilia came to Iran on an ordinary visa to report on the country she knows and loves, where information is suffocated by repression,” the newspaper said in a statement on its website.
Last week, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest of two Iranian nationals, Reuters reported, citing Iranian media.
Protests broke out in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in connection with the Women, Lives, Freedom protests.
Mahsa died in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of violating Iranian law requiring women to wear headscarves.
