Italian
Journalist Cecilia Sala, correspondent for Il Foglio and author of the podcast Stories by Chora Media, has been detained for over a week in Evin prison in Tehran. She was arrested while carrying out her work with a regular journalist visa
TEHRAN. Cecilia Sala, known for her journalistic commitment and her voice in the podcast Stories by Chora Media, was in Iran to document the changing political landscape after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, as well as the situation of women, a topic that was particularly close to her heart and that she had already addressed in her book The Fire. Despite having a valid visa, she was stopped and put in isolation.
According to early reconstructions, Sala was arrested around 12:30 at the hotel where she was staying. Shortly before, she had stopped answering the phone while about to send an episode of her daily podcast, which never arrived. She also had an appointment at 1 PM that she never showed up for and an airplane ticket to return to Rome the next day, a flight that departed without her.
For the first 24 hours, Sala was held without the possibility of communication. Subsequently, she was granted two phone calls: one to her family and one to her partner, the journalist Daniele Raineri. During the calls, she assured that she was fine, but some expressions used seemed to be translations from English, suggesting a possible control over her words.
The Italian ambassador in Tehran, Paola Amadei, met her in prison to verify the journalist’s detention conditions, reassuring about her health status. Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, stated: “We are working tirelessly to bring Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible” and added, “It seems to me that the things she wrote in her articles were not particularly serious, she also interviewed the Pasdaran leaders.”
The Italian Government, together with the Crisis Unit of the Farnesina and intelligence services (AISE), has immediately activated diplomatic channels to resolve the situation. Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defense, stated: “Negotiations with Iran are not resolved by popular outrage, but by high-level political and diplomatic action. Italy is working tirelessly to free her, pursuing every avenue”.
The arrest has sparked international reactions. Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of the journalist, reaffirming that “journalism is not a crime”. The National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have also launched appeals for the liberation of Cecilia Sala, denouncing the Iranian practice of arresting foreign journalists as a tool of political pressure.
The Evin prison, where she is detained, is known for primarily housing prisoners accused of crimes against national security and was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 for serious human rights violations.
Cecilia Sala is a professional journalist who was in Iran to do her job with the thoroughness, care, passion, and professionalism that everyone recognizes in her.
Her free voice has been silenced and Italy and Europe cannot tolerate this arbitrary arrest. Cecilia Sala must be released immediately.
#FreeCecilia
