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Iranian authorities have confirmed for the first time that Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained in the country for “violation of the laws of the Islamic Republic.”
It comes as a US State Department spokesperson told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Sala’s case could be related to the recent arrest of an Iranian national in Milan at the request of the United States.
Ms. Sala, a 29-year-old journalist and host of a popular news and foreign affairs podcast, was detained in Iran on December 19, the day before she was due to return home from a reporting trip.
She is reportedly currently being held in solitary confinement at Evin Prison in Tehran.
On December 16, Iranian national Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan on charges of supplying electronic parts for drones to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), resulting in the deaths of three US soldiers. The United States is currently seeking Abedini’s extradition from Italy.
The US State Department spokesperson quoted by La Repubblica stated that Sala was being used as “political influence.”
Neither the Italian nor the Iranian government has confirmed any link between Cecilia Sala and Mohammad Abedini.
However, on December 21, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Italian diplomat over Abedini’s arrest.
Italy denounced Sala’s arrest as “unacceptable” and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said efforts to free her were “complicated.”
“There is some goodwill, especially in terms of the way Cecilia is treated,” he told Italian television. However, he added that the negotiations were “very delicate” and that he could not guess how long it would take to secure his release.
Sala’s employer, podcast company Chora Media, broke the news of his arrest on December 27.
The company said it had initially remained silent for a week at the request of Sala’s family and the Italian Foreign Ministry, “hoping that this silence would lead to his quick release. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened.”
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the entire Italian government was “working tirelessly” to secure Sala’s release.
“Negotiations with Iran will not be resolved by involving Western public opinion… but by high-level political and diplomatic actions,” he wrote in X.
Sala has been granted consular access and is in contact with his family by phone, the Iranian Culture Ministry said.
One of Sala’s colleagues at Chora Media said he had been allowed to receive a “care package” in prison with panettone, chocolate, cigarettes and an eye mask to allow him to sleep despite the bright prison lights, which They never go out.
Cecilia Sala’s popular daily podcast covers a different angle of a trending story in each episode.
The latest was published a day before her arrest and focused on Zeynab Mousavi, a comedian who was detained by Iranian authorities and placed in solitary confinement.
