Iran has confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday. Reuters added that Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on 19 December, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani declined to say on Saturday whether the case might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the United States. The case of the Italian journalist being held in Iran is “complicated”, but Rome hopes to bring Sala home quickly, said Tajani.
“Italian national Cecilia Sala travelled to Iran on 13 December with a journalist visa and was detained on 19 December for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” said Iran’s Culture Ministry.
Chora Media noted that Sala had left Rome for Iran on 12 December with a valid journalist visa and had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her “Stories” podcast. She had been due to fly back to Rome on 20 December.
Sala has been in contact by phone with her family and the Italian Embassy in Tehran was notified of her detention, said the ministry.
In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.
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