Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested on December 19 in Iran for “violating the laws” of the Islamic Republic, has been released and is returning to her home country, the Italian government announced today.
“Our fellow citizen has been released by the Iranian authorities and is on her way back to Italy,” the Italian government said in a statement. “The plane carrying journalist Cecilia Sala took off a few minutes ago,” the announcement added.
Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the Chora Media podcast website, was arrested in Tehran on December 19. She had been in isolation in the infamous Evin prison in the Iranian capital.
Sala’s arrest came three days after Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini was detained at Milan’s airport. An American arrest warrant had been issued against him for supplying drone parts that the U.S. claimed were used in a 2024 attack that killed three American soldiers stationed in Jordan.
Today’s announcement from the Italian government clarified that Sala’s release came as a result of intensive diplomatic efforts and intelligence services, without any reference to the Abedini case.
