Iran Has Arrested And Jailed This Italian Woman Journalist While She Was Reporting In The Country
29-year-old Cecilia Sala, who has nearly half a million Instagram followers, had traveled from Rome to Iran on Dec. 12 on a valid journalist visa.
Iran has arrested and jailed this Italian woman journalist while she was reporting in the country.
29-year-old Cecilia Sala, who has nearly half a million Instagram followers, had traveled from Rome to Iran on Dec. 12 on a valid journalist visa.
Chora Media, the podcast company Sala works for, said she had conducted several interviews in Iran and produced three episodes of her podcast.
Tehran vibes pic.twitter.com/V4aLYlaHky
— Cecilia Sala (@ceciliasala) December 14, 2024
The episodes featured a woman comedian, a former military commander and a young woman who has rejected conservative values, according to the BBC.
Chora Media said she was supposed to travel back on Dec. 20 but went “silent” after exchanging a few messages on Dec. 19.
Italy’s foreign ministry said Sala, who also works for the Il Foglio newspaper, was detained on Dec. 19 but her arrest was not made public until Friday, Dec. 27.
Iran has not confirmed Sala’s arrest or given an official reason.
Italian authorities said Sala is being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison in Tehran, where critics of the government are usually jailed.
They said the Italian ambassador was able to visit Sala on Friday and saw she was “in good health condition” and had been able to make two phone calls to her relatives.
Italian authorities say they are working to secure her release as soon as possible.
If Foglio and Chora Media have both called for Sala’s release, saying that “journalism is not a crime.”
You Might Also Be Interested In
Isha Jain
Isha Jain
Sofia Hou
