Iranian authorities have confirmed for the first time the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in the country on charges of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic.”
This comes as a US State Department spokesperson told Italian daily La Repubblica that Ms. Sala's case could be linked to the recent arrest of an Iranian national in Milan at the request of the United States.
Sala, a 29-year-old journalist and host of a popular news and foreign affairs show, was arrested in Iran on December 19, the day before she returned home from a reporting trip.
She is now reportedly being held in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison.
On December 16, Iranian national Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan on charges of supplying electronic parts for drones to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, leading to the death of three American soldiers. The United States is currently seeking Abedini's extradition from Italy.
La Repubblica newspaper quoted a US State Department spokesman as saying that Sala was being used as a “political pressure tool.”
Neither the Italian nor Iranian governments have confirmed any connection between Cecilia Sala and Mohammad Abedini.
However, on December 21, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned a high-ranking Italian diplomat over the arrest of Mr. Abedini.
Italy denounced Sala's arrest as “unacceptable,” and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said efforts to free her were “complicated.”
“There is a certain amount of goodwill, especially regarding the way Cecilia is being treated,” he told Italian television. But he added that the negotiations were “very sensitive” and that he could not guess how long it would take to secure her release.
Chora Media, the podcast company where Sala works, announced her arrest on December 27.
The company said it initially remained silent for a week at the request of Ms. Sala's family and the Italian Foreign Ministry “in the hope that this silence would lead to her 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 engaging Western public opinion… but through high-level political and diplomatic action,” he wrote on X.
The Iranian Ministry of Culture said Ms Sala had been granted consular access and was in contact with her family by phone.
One of Sala's colleagues at Chora Media said she was allowed to receive a “care package” in prison that included panettone, chocolate, cigarettes and an eye mask to allow her to sleep despite the bright prison lights, which are never turned off.
Cecilia Sala's popular daily podcast covers a different angle to the current events story in each episode.
The final article was published one day before her arrest and focused on Zainab Mousavi, a comedian who was arrested by Iranian authorities and placed in solitary confinement.
