Italian Journalist Arrested in Tehran

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that journalist Cecilia Sala, who was in Iran to carry out her “journalistic activity,” has been arrested by the police in Tehran.

In a statement released on Friday, the Ministry confirmed that Sala, who hosts a podcast called “Stories” — narratives about life in various countries around the world — was arrested on December 19.

The Ministry did not provide the reason for her arrest but stated that the Italian Ambassador to Tehran visited her “to verify the conditions and status of Sala in detention.”

“Her family was informed about the outcome of the consular visit. Sala was allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives,” the Italian Ministry said.

Sala had posted a podcast from Tehran on December 17, discussing patriarchy in the Iranian capital.

Iran is regularly accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges, using them as leverage against Western countries.

Earlier this month, Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American and former journalist for Radio Farda of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court for allegedly “collaborating with an enemy government.”

Valizadeh had resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of service. He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22.

During his two court hearings, held on November 20 and December 7, prosecutors were reportedly absent, and the judge took over their role, according to RFE/RL.

Sources close to the journalist claim that he fell into a “security trap,” despite having received informal assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal issues upon his return to Iran.

Iran is one of the most repressive countries when it comes to press freedom. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index.