Italy summons Iran envoy over detention of journalist Cecilia Sala

NEWS WIRES

2 January 2025 at 11:31 am·1-min read

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala poses for a photo at the Pordenonelegge Literature Festival in Pordenone, Italy, on September 16, 2023.

Italy's foreign minister on Thursday summoned Iran's ambassador to discuss the arrest of journalist Cecilia Sala who was detained two weeks ago for "violating" Iran's laws after entering the country on a journalist visa.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday summoned the Iranian ambassador over the detention of an Italian journalist in Tehran two weeks ago, demanding her release.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on December 19, days after the United States and Italy arrested two Iranian nationals over export violations linked to a deadly attack on American servicemen.

The journalist, who writes for the Italian daily Il Foglio and is the host of a news podcast, has been kept in isolation since then.

The foreign ministry's secretary general, Riccardo Guariglia discussed her case with Iran's ambassador, Mohammad Reza Sabouri, said a foreign ministry statement.

Italy "requested the immediate release" of Sala, "who arrived in Iran with a regular journalist visa", it added.

"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," Tajani wrote.

"We will not leave Cecilia and her parents' side until her release."

In a phone call with her family on Wednesday, she told her family she had been sleeping on the floor in a cell with the lights permanently on, Italian media reported.

Iran has denied the accusations.

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