Italian journalist Cecilia Sala arrested in Tehran

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala arrested in Tehran

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Tehran, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Announcement on Friday reported. Sala was in the Iranian capital when she was “stopped” by Tehran police on December 19. The statement added that the State Department “is working with the Iranian authorities to clarify the legal situation of Cecilia Sala and review the conditions of her detention.”

Visit of the Italian ambassador

On Friday, Sala was visited in prison by Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei to review the conditions and status of her detention. The message mentions that Sala had previously been allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives. Sala is a reporter for the Italian daily newspaper Il Foglio which reports that the journalist is being held in Evin Prison in Tehran. According to Il Foglio, Cecilia was in Iran on a regular visa to report on a country she knows and loves, while highlighting the suppression of freedom of expression and threats against journalists.

Demand for release

Il Foglio editor-in-chief Claudio Cerasa told the newspaper on Friday: "Journalism is not a crime. Let's bring Cecilia Sala home." Cerasa further emphasized: "She is in Evin prison. With this, Tehran has decided to challenge everything that the West considers inviolable: our freedom." The newsroom decided to report Sala's story "after receiving assurances from our diplomatic leaders that information about her arrest will not impede diplomatic efforts toward repatriation."

Information about Sala's stay

The Italian medium Chora Media, for which Sala also works, announced that she had left Rome on December 12 with a valid journalist visa and the protection of a reporter. “She conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of the Stories podcast for Chora News,” the statement said. Chora Media is only now making Sala's detention public because her parents and the Italian authorities had asked them to remain silent in the hope of the journalist's speedy release.

Political measures for release

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Friday on On Sala's Instagram account you can see current articles about women she met in Iran.

CNN has reached out to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment.