ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian state media on Monday confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for allegedly “violating the laws of the Islamic republic.”
Sala, 29, is a reporter for Il Foglio, an Italian daily newspaper and also works for the podcast company Choro Media. She was “arrested on December 19, 2024, for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Iran’s state IRNA news agency said, citing a culture ministry statement.
“If the judicial system so desires, further details will be announced later,” the statement added.
Her arrest came six days after arriving in Tehran.
On Friday, the Italian foreign ministry announced that Sala was arrested in Tehran. Choro Media said she is being held in the notorious Evin prison in the capital.
“Consular access has been provided to [Sala], and she has been in contact with her family by phone,” Iran’s cultural ministry noted, and the Italian embassy in Tehran has been contacted.
An investigation into the arrest is underway.
Tehran has been accused of “hostage diplomacy,” detaining foreign nationals on charges such as espionage as leverage on the international stage.
Authorities have also cracked down on the media in an effort to limit reporting on its human rights record. Dozens of journalists were detained by Iranian authorities in late 2022 and early 2023 for covering the nationwide protest movement following the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index issued by the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, a non-profit organization aiming to safeguard freedom of information, Iran is listed as 176 out of 180 countries, making it one of the worst nations in the world for press freedom, followed only by North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea.
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