Italian Journalist Held in Iranian Prison, Italy’s Foreign Ministry Says

Alessio Romenzi, Sergio Splendore, and Cecilia Sala (via video link) during the “Gli orrori della guerra: storie dal fronte” event as part of the Terni Influencer & Creator Festival 2024 in Terni, Italy, on April 13, 2024. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The Italian Foreign Ministry announced Friday that an Italian journalist was arrested in Iran on Dec. 19.

Cecilia Sala, a reporter for the Italian daily Il Foglio, was reporting from Iran when she was detained by Tehran police. The newspaper stated Sala was in Iran with a regular visa “to report on a country she knows and loves.”

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, has directed the Italian embassy and consulate in Tehran to closely monitor the situation, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Tajani added that Sala is “in good health condition” following a consular visit. Sala is reportedly being held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, a facility known for housing political detainees.

“In coordination with the Presidency of the Italian Council, the Italian Foreign Ministry has been working with the Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala’s legal situation and to verify the conditions of her detention,” the statement added.

Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei conducted a consular visit on Friday to assess Sala’s conditions and detention status, according to the Italian foreign ministry.

The journalist’s family was briefed on the outcome of the visit, according to the ministry. Sala has been permitted two phone calls with her relatives since her arrest.

“In agreement with the journalist’s parents, the Italian Foreign Ministry invites the press to exercise the utmost discretion in order to facilitate a quick and positive resolution of the matter,” the statement reads.

Her editor, Claudio Cerasa, has called for her release, writing that “journalism is not a crime” and urging authorities to “bring Cecilia Sala home.”

The circumstances surrounding Sala’s arrest remain unclear, and Iranian authorities have not acknowledged detaining her. Italian officials have refrained from releasing further details, citing efforts to resolve the situation diplomatically.

Sala’s arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of foreign journalists in Iran, where Western reporters have faced significant challenges. Since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, Iran has frequently used detainees with Western ties as leverage in negotiations with other nations.

In September 2023, five Americans detained in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in U.S. custody and $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Other cases, including those of Roxana Saberi in 2009 and Jason Rezaian in 2014, involved false espionage accusations in closed-door trials. Saberi was held for 100 days before her release, while Rezaian endured over 540 days in detention before a prisoner swap secured his freedom.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.