IRAN CONFIRMS ARREST OF ITALIAN JOURNALIST
Read Time:2 Minute, 29 Second
On Monday, Iran confirmed that it had arrested Italian journalist, Cecilia Sala for “violating the law,” state media reported.
Meanwhile, Italy denounced the move as “unacceptable.”
“Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, travelled to Iran on 13 December 2024 with a journalist visa and was arrested on 19 December 2024 for violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the official IRNA news agency reported, citing a statement by the culture ministry without further details.
“Her case is currently under investigation,” the ministry added. It oversees and accredits foreign journalists in Iran.
It was gathered that Sala, reported to be 29 years old, last posted on X on 17 December, sharing a link to a podcast titled “A Conversation on Patriarchy in Tehran.”
She had previously reported from Ukraine on its war with Iran’s ally, Russia.
According to Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, she had travelled from Rome to Iran on a journalist visa and was scheduled to return on 20 December.
On Friday, Italy denounced Sala’s arrest as “unacceptable” and confirmed she was being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.
Italy’s ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, has visited her.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that efforts to secure Sala’s release were “complicated.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office stated that she was “following the complex affair closely.”
Iran’s culture ministry confirmed on Monday that Sala had been granted consular assistance and had been in contact with her family by phone.
Other Detentions in Iran
Sala’s arrest occurred just days after the United States and Italy arrested two Iranian nationals over alleged export violations linked to a deadly attack on American servicemen.
Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi were accused of “conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran in violation of US export control and sanctions laws,” according to a US Department of Justice statement. One suspect was arrested in Italy at Washington’s request.
The statement alleged that the exported technology was used in a January drone strike that killed three US servicemen in Jordan. Iran has denied any involvement in the attack.
Earlier this month, Tehran formally protested the arrests to the Italian chargé d’affaires and the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represent US interests there.
Several other Europeans remain in custody in Iran, which has conducted multiple prisoner exchanges with Western governments in recent years, often mediated by Oman or Qatar.
For example, French couple Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been imprisoned since May 2022 on espionage charges, which carry the death penalty in Iran. In June, Iran released two Swedes, including a European Union diplomat, in exchange for a former official held in Sweden, in a deal brokered by Oman.
In 2023, Oman also mediated the release of six European detainees in Iran, including Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had been convicted of espionage and detained for over a year.
AFP
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0