Italy's foreign minister on Thursday summoned the Iranian ambassador in Rome to demand the release of journalist Cecilia Sala.
Sala is being held in Iran's Evin prison following her arrest in the capital, Tehran, on Dec. 19. The journalist was on assignment in Iran and had a valid journalist visa.
Iran accuses Sala of "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic." But others believe her arrest is a retaliatory move after Italy detained a Swiss-Iranian businessman at the request of the U.S.
A statement by Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Riccardo Guariglia discussed Sala's case with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sabouri and requested the journalist's "immediate release."
"The government, as it has from the first day of Cecilia Sala's arrest, is working tirelessly to bring her home, and we demand that all her rights be respected," the statement read. "We will not leave Cecilia and her parents' side until her release."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also called a meeting on Thursday with her foreign and justice ministers and the heads of Italy's intelligence services to discuss Sala's case.
Sala is an experienced journalist who has reported on Iran, Afghanistan and Russia's war in Ukraine. She contributes to the newspaper Il Foglio and hosts the "Stories" podcast on Chora Media.
Chora Media released a statement late last week after details of Sala's arrest were made public. It confirmed that the journalist was detained one day before she was due to return to Rome.
While in Iran, the journalist produced three episodes of her "Stories" podcast. In her last post on X on Dec. 17, Sala linked to a podcast entitled "A Conversation on Patriarchy in Tehran."
Sala had been in Iran "to report on a country she knows and loves," Chora Media said.
The alarm was raised when the journalist stopped communicating on Dec. 19 and then failed to board her return flight to Rome.
Chora Media added that Sala has been "taken to Evin prison, where dissidents are held."
Sala was able to speak with her family Wednesday, according to Italian media reports. She is sleeping on a cell floor, she said, and the lights are on permanently.
The journalist received a visit from Italy's ambassador to Tehran, but a care package the ambassador left with prison officials had not been passed on to Sala.
In his meeting with Iran's ambassador to Rome, Guariglia underscored that Italian Embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Sala "and provide her with the comfort items that have been denied to date," the Foreign Ministry said.
The Iranian Embassy in Rome issued a statement Thursday saying that Guariglia and Sabouri had discussed Sala in a "friendly meeting." The officials also discussed the Swiss-Iranian citizen Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, known as Abedini, who is being held in Milan, the statement said.
Abedini was detained just a few days before Sala. He is accused of breaking U.S. sanctions laws and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, which ultimately led to the deaths of three U.S. service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan, according to the U.S. Justice Department website.
The statement from the Iranian Embassy in Rome said Abedini was being held on "false charges."
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department was cited in local media as saying they believe the action against Sala is in retaliation for the arrest of Abedini.
Press freedom organizations have condemned the arrest of Sala and called for the international community to pressure Tehran to free her.
"We deplore Iran's tactics of imprisoning foreign journalists in order to get something in return," Anthony Bellanger, secretary-general of the International Federation of Journalists, said in a statement. "Our Italian colleague Cecilia Sala, who was in the country on assignment, is the latest victim of this macabre practice."
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement that the arrest "serves as a stark reminder of the daily threats faced by journalists in Iran."
Iran ranks seventh among the world's top jailers of journalists, according to the media freedom group's data.
Thibaut Bruttin, director general of Reporters Without Borders, raised concerns over Sala's conditions in solitary confinement in Evin prison.
"Evin prison is notorious as the harsh facility where voices critical of the regime are silenced, and Sala's detention is a blatant attack on press freedom," Bruttin said.
The office of the Italian Prime Minister has said that it is handling the case with the utmost seriousness and exploring all possible avenues for dialogue to secure her release.
Some information for this report came from tAgence France-Presse.
