Italian journalist arrested in Iran, tossed into infamous Tehran prison, Rome officials say

An Italian war correspondent was arrested in Iran and has been held at an infamous Tehran prison for more than a week, Italian officials said.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on Dec. 19, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, but her arrest was only made public on Friday. Officials did not provide a reason for her arrest.

The prominent Italian journalist works for Il Foglio newspaper and hosts “Stories,” a daily podcast on Chora Media.

In a statement, Chora Media said Sala was being held in solitary confinement at the Evin prison in Tehran, infamous for its mistreatment of political prisoners since the 1970s.

Sala left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist’s visa, according to Chora Media. During her time in Tehran, she produced three episodes of her podcast and published several stories.

Her reporting said many women were no longer wearing the hijab to protest the country’s leaders.

While in Tehran, she also interviewed an Iranian stand-up comedian who had been jailed in the country.

Sala was supposed to board a return flight to Italy on Dec. 20, but never made it to the airport, Italian officials said. She stopped sending messages from her phone on Dec. 19, according to Chora Media.

Iranian officials did not immediately confirm the arrest.

“Cecilia was in Iran, with a valid visa, to cover a country she knows and loves — a country where information is stifled through repression, threats, intimidation, violence, and detentions, often targeting journalists themselves,” Il Foglio said in a statement.

“Journalism is not a crime,” the paper added.

Last week, Iran had summoned a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest of an Iranian national, Reuters reported, based on Iranian media.

The day before Sala’s arrest, Italian police said they arrested an Iranian man accused of providing drone parts to Iran’s military. The 38-year-old man faces extradition to the US, Italian officials said in a statement.