Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, has summoned the Iranian ambassador to Rome regarding the detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who has been held in isolation since her arrest in Tehran two weeks ago.
In a post on his official X handle on Thursday, Tajani stated that the government has been working tirelessly since Sala’s arrest to secure her release and ensure her rights are respected.
“We will not leave Cecilia and her parents’ side until her release,” Tajani said. The 29-year-old journalist traveled to Iran on December 13 with a journalist’s visa and was arrested on December 19 for allegedly violating Iranian law.
According to Italian media reports, Sala informed her family in a phone call on Wednesday that she is being kept in isolation, sleeping on the floor in a cell with the lights permanently on.
Italian media also reported that Rome’s ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, visited Sala, but a care package she provided, including an eye mask to help her sleep and sanitary products, has not been handed over to Sala.
Meanwhile, Tajani has condemned Sala’s arrest as unacceptable, acknowledging that efforts to free her from Tehran’s Evin prison are complicated.
Sala’s arrest came days after the United States and Italy arrested two Iranian nationals over export violations linked to a deadly attack on American servicemen.
Sala last posted on X on December 17, sharing a link to a podcast titled “A Conversation on Patriarchy in Tehran.”
She had previously reported from Ukraine on its war with Russia, an ally of Iran.
