The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Wednesday the release of citizen Cecilia Sala, a journalist detained in Iran.
A statement from Meloni’s office said, “The plane carrying the journalist left Tehran minutes ago after intensive work through diplomatic and intelligence channels,” noting that Sala’s release came after “intensive work through diplomatic and intelligence channels.”
Sala’s arrest while she was on a press mission in Iran sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Taiani announced on Thursday that he had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Rome in this regard.
Tayani wrote on the “X” platform at the time: “I assigned the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the Iranian ambassador to Rome.
On Monday, the Iranian Ministry of Culture confirmed Sala’s arrest, on charges of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic,” according to the official Iranian news agency, “IRNA.”
Iranian police arrested Sala, 29, in Tehran on December 19, and detained her in Evin Prison.
Tayani had previously announced that efforts to release the journalist imprisoned in Iran are “complicated,” adding: “We are trying to solve a complex case and ensure that Cecilia is detained in the best possible conditions at the same time.”
The Quora Media website, which produces a podcast program for which Sala works, said that the latter left Rome for Iran on December 12, on a press visa, and will return to Italy on the 20th of this month.
On December 19, she had no news and she did not board the return flight, after which she called her mother to tell her that she had been arrested.
Sala also worked for the Italian newspaper Il Folio, which said she was in Iran “to cover events in a country she knows and loves.” She continued: “Journalism is not a crime even in countries that suppress freedoms, including freedom of the press. “Send her back to her homeland.”
On December 17, Sala published her last post on the “X” platform, including a link to a podcast entitled “Dialogue on Patriarchy in Iran.”
Last updated: January 8, 2025 – 14:45
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