Milan, Italy
Reuters
The case of an Italian journalist being held in Iran is “complicated”, but Rome hopes to bring 29-year-old Cecilia Sala home quickly, Italy’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on 19th December but her arrest was only made public on Friday.
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran, on 19th December, 2024, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, poses for pictures to promote the launch of her podcast ‘Stories’ at her home in Rome, Italy in this undated picture released by Chora Media/via Reuters/File photo
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he hoped the issue could be resolved quickly but added: “It doesn’t depend on us.”
“We’re trying to solve an issue that’s complicated,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANSA.
Tajani said Sala was being held in a single cell, in decent conditions that Italy would keep monitoring:
“It looks like she is being treated in a way that is respectful of personal dignity,” he said. “So far we haven’t had negative feedback.”
Tajani said the official reason for Sala’s detention was not yet clear, but that he hoped her lawyer could visit her soon and find out more.
There was no official public confirmation of the arrest from Iran, and Tajani declined to say whether it might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the US.
Sala, who is being held in Tehran’s Evin prison, left Italy for Iran on 12th December with a valid journalist visa, Chora Media said on Friday. She had been due to fly back to Rome on 20th December.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was following Sala’s case closely with the aim of bringing her home as soon as possible, urging media to treat the issue with the “necessary caution”.