An Italian journalist who was arrested in Iran last month has been released and is on a flight to Rome, the Italian government announced.
Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on December 19, three days after Italian authorities in Milan detained an Iranian engineer on suspicion of supplying the drone technology that led to the deaths of US soldiers.
Reports say she was held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
It is unclear what led to Sala’s release, but Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s officials announced the news, citing “intense work through diplomatic and intelligence channels.”
In an Italian statement, Meloni thanked “all those who contributed to make Cecilia’s return possible.”
She personally informed Sala’s parents about her release, it added. Sala’s plane had already left Tehran and was due to arrive in Rome at 15:30 (14:30 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the Ansa news agency.
Her partner, fellow journalist Daniele Raineri, told Ansa: “I spoke to her and she said ‘See you soon’, she was emotional and overjoyed.”
Cecilia Sala’s detention in a Tehran prison has outraged Italians and dominated headlines since her employer, podcast company Chora Media, broke the news of her arrest on December 27.
Meloni is understood to have taken personal responsibility for her case and met with US President-elect Donald Trump at the weekend, when the journalist’s detention is understood to have been discussed.
Outgoing President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Rome later this week.
Iran initially said it arrested Sala for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” but US State Department officials said it may be related to the Dec. 16 arrest of Iranian national Mohammad Abedini at Milan’s Malpensa airport.
He was arrested on a US warrant, and one official told Italian media that Sala was being used as “political leverage”.
Mohammad Abedini is due to stand trial in Milan on January 15, and Tehran has played down any link between the two cases in recent days.
The head of Italy’s foreign intelligence service, Giovanni Caravelli, reportedly personally traveled to Tehran to bring Sala back to Italy.
Her father, Renato Sala, told the Ansa news agency that he was proud of her and praised the government for an “exceptional job”.
He said that he had the impression that the situation had turned into “a game of chess, but with more than two players”.
