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An Italian journalist arrested in Iran last month and held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison has been freed, the Italian government said on Wednesday.
Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on December 19, days after Italian authorities detained an Iranian man wanted in the US for allegedly providing Iran with sensitive technology for drones that were used to kill three American soldiers in Jordan.
The journalist’s release comes just days after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made an emergency visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to have dinner with US president-elect Donald Trump, with whom she is believed to have discussed the case.
Iranian authorities gave no official confirmation or explanation for the journalist’s release. Earlier, Iranian officials said Sala had been detained for “violating the laws of the Islamic republic” without giving any further details, though they denied any “retaliatory” intentions. Sala had been in Tehran on a valid journalist visa.
In a social media post, Meloni — who was under intense domestic pressure to secure Sala’s release — wrote that she had called the journalist’s parents directly to tell them that their daughter was travelling home.
Meloni, who said the release was the result of “intense work on diplomatic and intelligence channels”, also expressed gratitude to “all those who contributed to making Cecilia’s release possible, allowing her to embrace family and colleagues again”.
The journalist’s release follows bitter diplomatic exchanges between Rome and Tehran, with Iranian authorities demanding that Italy release Iranian citizen Mohammad Abedini, an engineer arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport last month just days before Sala was taken into custody.
Abedini is being sought by US authorities, who want to try him on multiple criminal charges linked to his alleged illegal export of “sophisticated electronic components from the US to Iran” in violation of sanctions.
Abedini is being held in jail in Milan but is due to appear next week in an Italian court, where his lawyer will plead for him to be taken out of jail and placed under house arrest.
Italian prosecutors have opposed Abedini’s potential release into house arrest, citing the likely flight risk. The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Abedini’s status.
The US justice department has also written to Italy to oppose Abedini’s release from jail and placement under house arrest, noting that various individuals sought by the US had subsequently disappeared after being placed under house arrest in Italy.
In one particularly high-profile case last year, Artem Uss, a prominent Russian politician’s son wanted in the US to stand trial for sanctions violations, managed to escape house arrest and make his way back to his homeland.
Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi in Rome and Bita Ghaffari in Tehran
