Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala: What to know
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested on Dec. 19, just six days after arriving in Tehran where she had conducted a series of interviews for her podcast series.
Iran's Ministry of Culture on Monday confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since her arrest on Dec. 19.
Sala is a news reporter for Italian national newspaper Il Foglio and podcast production company Chora Media. She has reported from Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine war, and she reported from Afghanistan during the 2021 Taliban takeover of the country. More recently, Sala reported from Iran during its exchange of missiles with Israel this fall.
Iran's official news agency, IRNA, said on Monday that Sala traveled to Iran on a journalist visa on Dec. 13 and was arrested on Dec. 19. Citing the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, IRNA wrote that Sala was arrested for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. No further details were given on the alleged violations.
On Friday, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto condemned Sala's arrest, calling it "unacceptable.” Crosetto confirmed that Sala is being held in Evin Prison — a facility known for holding dissidents of the Iranian government. After the 2022 Woman Life Freedom protests in Iran, many protesters were detained in Evin. The facility has housed scores of notable Iranian activists, journalists and other political prisoners, and abuse is rife at the facility, per reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and firsthand accounts of those who were detained in Evin.
Crosetto said on Sunday that Sala is in good health, and negotiations to bring her home are underway.
In a statement posted to social media on Dec. 27, Chora Media said that Sala had been scheduled to return to Rome on Dec. 20, and that she was being held in solitary confinement.
“Only after eight days, on Friday, Dec. 27, Cecilia was allowed to receive a prison visit from the Italian ambassador in Tehran, Paola Amadei,” said the statement.
Upon her arrival in Iran on Dec. 13, Sala posted a picture of Tehran to X with the caption “Tehran, I even missed your smog.”
Tehran, I even missed your smog pic.twitter.com/f7GJZ5F5sp
— Cecilia Sala (@ceciliasala) December 13, 2024
Just two days before being detained, Sala shared a link to a podcast episode she created for Chora Media as part of her “Stories” podcast, titled “A Conversation on Patriarchy in Tehran.” In the episode, Sala speaks with an Iranian woman and discusses hijab laws, the 2022 Woman Life Freedom protests in Iran over gender-based oppression and women’s autonomy in the country.
On Dec. 18, Sala posted another podcast in which she spoke with Zeinab Mousavi, a well-known female Iranian comedian whose comedy has previously tackled hijab laws in the country. Mousavi served time in Iranian prison in 2022 after being arrested at the Woman Life Freedom protests and was arrested again in 2023 over alleged sacrilege.
In July, Sala published an article in Il Foglio after the election of current Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The article includes the death of Canadian Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in 2003 in Evin Prison under the custody of Iranian officials.
Three days prior to Sala's arrest, a Swiss Iranian businessman was arrested on a US warrant in Milan, raising questions as to whether Sala's arrest was a retaliatory response. The man, Mohammad Abedini Najafabi, is an alleged arms trafficker and has been linked to the Iranian government. Najafabi was arrested on a US warrant, which alleges that he conspired to export illegal electronic devices from the US to Iran and provided material support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the US designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
In an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica on Dec. 29, a US State Department spokesperson implied that Sala's arrest could be a response to Najafabi's arrest and accused Iran of detaining foreigners for "political leverage."
