Iran arrests Italian journalist

Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the law"

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TEHRAN:

Iran confirmed on Monday that it had arrested Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the law", state media reported, a move decried by Italy as "unacceptable".

"Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, travelled to Iran on December 13, 2024 with a journalist's visa and was arrested on December 19, 2024 for violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the official IRNA news agency said, citing a statement by the culture ministry without elaborating.

"Her case is currently under investigation," added the ministry, which oversees and accredits foreign journalists in Iran.

Sala, reported to be 29, last posted on X on December 17 with a link to a podcast entitled "A conversation on patriarchy in Tehran". She had previously reported from Ukraine on its war with Iran's ally, Russia.

Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, said she had travelled from Rome to Iran on a journalist visa and was due to return on December 20.

On Friday, Italy denounced Sala's arrest as "unacceptable", and said she has been held in Tehran's Evin prison. Italy's ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, has visited her.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that efforts to free Sala were "complicated".

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office has said she is "following the complex affair" closely.

Iran's culture ministry confirmed Monday that Sala had been allowed consular assistance and that she "has been in contact with her family by phone".

Sala's arrest took place days after the United States and Italy arrested two Iranian nationals over export violations linked to a deadly attack on American servicemen.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi were accused of "conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran in violation of US export control and sanctions laws", a US Department of Justice statement said, with the latter suspect arrested in Italy at Washington's request.

The statement added that the illegally exported technology was used in a January drone strike that killed three US servicemen in Jordan. Iran denied any involvement in the attack.

Earlier this month, Tehran formally protested the arrests to the Italian chargé d'affaires and the Swiss ambassador to Tehran, who represents US interests there.

Several other Europeans remain in custody in Iran, which has conducted multiple prisoner exchanges with Western governments in recent years, often brokered by Oman or Qatar.

French couple Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been jailed since May 2022 on charges of espionage, a capital offence in Iran.

In June, Iran released two Swedes, one of them a European Union diplomat, in exchange for a former official held in Sweden, in a swap mediated by Oman.

In 2023, Oman also brokered the release of six European detainees in Iran, including Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had been convicted of espionage and spent more than a year in custody.