In a troubling development for press freedom, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been arrested and held in solitary confinement for a week while reporting in Tehran, Iran. The 29-year-old war correspondent, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and podcast company Chora Media, was detained on December 19th despite being in the country on a regular journalist visa.
Sala’s arrest was only made public on Friday by Italy’s foreign ministry, which stated she had published several reports on the shifting landscape in Iran following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. The ministry said the Italian embassy and consulate in Tehran are closely monitoring the case.
“Following orders from foreign minister Antonio Tajani, the embassy and consulate in Tehran are monitoring the case with utmost attention from the outset, working in coordination with the council presidency. We are engaged with Iranian authorities to clarify Sala’s legal situation and verify the conditions of her detention.”
– Italy’s foreign ministry statement
Detained in Notorious Evin Prison
Sala is being held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, which has long been criticized by Western rights groups for holding detainees facing security charges in harsh conditions. The prison was blacklisted by the US government in 2018 for “serious human rights abuses.”
The foreign ministry said Sala had been allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives, while Italian ambassador Paola Amadei visited her in prison on Friday. Foreign minister Tajani stated the journalist was “in good health condition.”
Calls for Immediate Release
Sala’s employers have called for her swift release. Chora Media said in a statement: “The independent voice of Cecilia has been silenced. Italy and Europe cannot tolerate this arbitrary arrest. Cecilia Sala must be immediately released.”
Il Foglio wrote in an article: “Journalism is not a crime. We decided to share Cecilia’s story after receiving assurances from the heads of our diplomacy that informing our readers about her arrest would not slow down the diplomatic efforts to bring her home.”
Sala has nearly half a million followers on Instagram and regularly reports on major global events and conflicts. She has covered the fall of Kabul and return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the crisis in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Iran Silent on Detention
Iran has not publicly acknowledged detaining Sala, and it can often take weeks before authorities announce such arrests. Since the 1979 hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran, Iran has frequently detained Westerners and dual nationals as bargaining chips in negotiations.
Elly Schlein, leader of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party opposition, urged the government to take swift action to bring Sala home:
“We immediately call on the government to take every useful initiative to shed light on this matter, to clarify the reasons for this detention and, above all, to bring Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible.”
– Elly Schlein, Democratic Party leader
Risks for Foreign Journalists
Sala’s arrest highlights the grave risks foreign journalists can face when reporting from countries with repressive governments and limited press freedoms. Despite entering Iran lawfully on a journalist visa and practicing standard reporting activities, she was arbitrarily detained in harsh conditions.
Her case is likely to heighten tensions between Iran and Western countries, many of which have long accused Iran of arbitrarily arresting dual nationals and foreigners on trumped up charges. It underscores the importance of consular protection for citizens detained abroad.
As diplomatic efforts to free Sala continue, press freedom advocates are rallying behind her, arguing that journalism is not a crime and that Iran must be held to account. Whether Iran will bow to the mounting international pressure remains to be seen, but Sala’s plight has thrust the issue of journalist safety back into the global spotlight.
