The journalist Cecilia Sala, arrested about three weeks ago in Iran, has been freed and is currently on a flight to Italy, which left Tehran. The Italian government announced it a short while ago. Sala's parents were informed by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, shortly before the news was communicated by the Prime Minister to the newspapers. Sala's flight is scheduled to arrive at 3.30pm at Rome Ciampino airport.
Sala is 29 years old and works for Chora Media and the Sheet. She was arrested on Thursday 19 December around 12.30 in the hotel where she was staying in Tehran, the capital of Iran, where she had been staying for a few days with a regular journalist visa. The news only emerged on Friday 27 December. From the first days the Italian government had been in contact with the Iranian government to negotiate the release of Sala, who was detained in very harsh conditions in Evin prison: he slept on the floor in a cell with the light always on, and had very limited access to external communications. Since Tuesday we knew that detention conditions had improved slightly. During his detention he received only one visit, that of the Italian ambassador to Iran.
At the beginning of January, the Iranian regime explained that Sala's condition was linked to that of Mohammed Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian man arrested on December 16 at Malpensa airport, in Italy, at the request of the United States, on charges of trafficking in warfare technology. Abedini is currently in prison: on January 15 the Milan Court of Appeal will examine his lawyers' request for house arrest.
