Iran confirmed on Monday that it had arrested Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for “violating the law”, state media reported, a move decried by Italy as “unacceptable”.
“Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, travelled to Iran on December 13, 2024, with a journalist’s visa and was arrested on December 19, 2024 for violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the official IRNA news agency said, citing a statement by the culture ministry without elaborating.
“Her case is currently under investigation,” added the ministry, which oversees and accredits foreign journalists in Iran.
Sala, reported to be 29, last posted on X on December 17 with a link to a podcast entitled “A conversation on patriarchy in Tehran”.
She had previously reported from Ukraine on its war with Iran’s ally, Russia.
Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, said she had travelled from Rome to Iran on a journalist visa and was due to return on December 20.
On Friday, Italy denounced Sala’s arrest as “unacceptable”, and said she has been held in Tehran’s Evin prison. Italy’s ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, has visited her.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that efforts to free Sala were “complicated”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office has said she is “following the complex affair” closely.
Iran’s culture ministry confirmed Monday that Sala had been allowed consular assistance and that she “has been in contact with her family by phone”.
