Iranian authorities have confirmed for the first time that Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been arrested in the country for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”.
A US State Department spokesman 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.
Ms. Sala, a 29-year-old journalist and host of a popular news and foreign affairs podcast, was arrested in Iran on December 19, a day before she was due to fly home from reporting.
He is now reportedly in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison.
On December 16, Iranian national Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan on charges of supplying drone electronic parts to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), resulting in the deaths of three US soldiers. The US is currently seeking Mr. Abedini’s extradition from Italy.
A US State Department spokesman quoted by La Repubblica said Ms Sala was being used as “political leverage”.
Neither the Italian nor the Iranian government has confirmed any connection between Cecilia Sala and Mohammad Abedini.
However, on December 21, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Italian diplomat over Mr. Abedini’s arrest.
Italy condemned Ms 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 in the way Cecilia is being treated,” he told Italian TV. However, he added that the negotiations were “very delicate” and that he could not predict how long it would take to secure her release.
Ms. Sala’s employer, podcast company Chora Media, announced the news of her arrest on December 27.
The company said it had initially remained silent for a week at the request of Ms Sala’s family and the Italian foreign ministry “hoping that this silence would lead to her speedy release. Unfortunately, that has not yet happened.”
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the entire Italian government was “working tirelessly” to secure Ms Sala’s release.
“Negotiations with Iran will not be resolved by involving Western public opinion… but by high-level political and diplomatic action,” he wrote on X.
Ms. Sala has been granted consular access and is in contact with her family by phone, Iran’s Ministry of Culture said.
One of Ms Sala’s colleagues at Chora Media said she was allowed to receive a “care package” in prison with panettone, chocolate, cigarettes and an eye mask so she could sleep despite the prison’s bright lights, which never go off.
Cecilia Sala’s popular daily podcast covers a different angle on current events in each episode.
The latest was published the day before her arrest and focused on Zeynab Mousavi, a stand-up comedian who was detained and placed in solitary confinement by Iranian authorities.
