Italian journalist arrested in Tehran while making report

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been arrested in Tehran. The Italian Foreign Ministry says she was arrested after reporting in the Iranian capital. The journalist has since been in contact with her family and the Italian embassy.

Sala was stopped by police last Thursday and has been in custody ever since. The arrest has only been made public now because Sala and her family hoped that keeping quiet would help the process of her release, but so far that has had no effect. According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, she was arrested while she was preparing to return to Italy.

Italian Foreign Minister Tajani is closely following the case. Efforts are being made to “clarify the legal situation and circumstances”.

Valid journalist visa

Sala works for the national newspaper Il Foglio and podcast company Chora Media. According to Chora Media, she left Rome for Iran on December 12 with a valid journalist visa.

She worked on several reports there. She produced three episodes of her podcast Stories, according to the podcast company. In Stories, Sala talks about conflicts in the Middle East with those involved. It is not clear what exactly she reported on in Iran.

According to the daily newspaper Il Foglio, Sala is being held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. In 2021, security footage was leaked showing prisoners being beaten up by guards.

Iranian arrested in Italy

The relationship between Iran and Italy has cooled considerably recently. Earlier this month, Italian police arrested an Iranian citizen on suspicion of supplying drone parts to Iran. This happened at the request of the American government. Tehran has criticized the arrest.

Iran often arrests foreigners to use them as bargaining chips. This is also called ‘hostage diplomacy’. It is unclear whether there is a link between Sala’s arrest and the Iranian; Iran has not yet said anything about the arrested journalist.