Italy summons Iranian ambassador, demands release of journalist

ROME - Italy’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Jan 2 to demand the immediate release of reporter Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on Dec 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa.

The ministry said in a statement that it had relayed “serious concern” over Ms Sala’s detention and stressed the need for humane treatment and respect for her human rights.

Italian media have reported that Ms Sala is in solitary confinement in a freezing cold cell with a neon light left on night and day. Her glasses have been confiscated and she has had hardly any contact with the outside world.

The secretary-general of the Italian Foreign Ministry, Mr Riccardo Guariglia, demanded that embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Ms Sala and provide her with “the comfort items that she has been denied so far”, the ministry said.

Iran’s official Irna news agency reported on Dec 30, 2024, that Ms Sala had been arrested for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”. It gave no further information.

Ms Sala was detained three days after an Iranian businessman, Mr Mohammad Abedini, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.

Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its Foreign Ministry was quoted in Iranian media as saying Mr Abedini’s arrest violated international law.

In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to discuss Ms Sala’s case with her foreign and justice ministers later on Jan 2, her office said. REUTERS