The arrest of a renowned Italian journalist in Iran is reportedly in retaliation for the detention of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and suspected arms dealer in Italy just three days earlier, according to media reports quoting the US state department.
Cecilia Sala, 29, a war correspondent and reporter who works for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained on 19 December while reporting in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and held in solitary confinement for a week.
She was in the country on a regular journalist visa and had published several reports on the shifting landscape in Iran after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Italy’s government said it is working to try to bring her back to Italy.
The foreign ministry said Sala had been allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives. The Italian ambassador, Paola Amadei, visited Sala in prison on Friday, and Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, said the journalist was “in good health condition”.
On Sunday, in an interview with la Repubblica, a US state department spokesperson said that her detention is allegedly a reprisal for the 16 December arrest at a Milan airport on a US warrant of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and alleged arms trafficker with ties to the Iranian regime.
“Unfortunately, the Iranian regime continues to unjustly detain citizens of many other countries, often using them as political leverage,’’ said the US spokesperson. “There is no justification for this, and they should be released immediately. Journalists do crucial work in informing the public, often under dangerous conditions, and must be protected.’’
“We are aware of the arrest in Iran of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala,” the US state department added. “Her arrest comes after an Iranian citizen was arrested in Italy on 16 December for smuggling drone components. We once again call for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Iran without just cause.”
Three days before the arrest of Sala in Tehran, Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a 38-year-old Swiss-Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant over charges of the illegal sanction-busting export of electronic devices that could be used in drones.
The man is accused of criminal association with the purpose of terrorism and is being detained in a prison in Milan.
Najafabadis’ lawyer, Alfredo De Francesco, told Italy’s state agency Ansa that his client rejected all charges against him.
“From the analysis of the documents in my possession, although the charges brought are formally serious, in reality the position of my client appears to be much less serious than it may seem,’’ De Francesco said. “He rejects the charges and is unable to understand the reasons for the arrest.”
Najafabadi, wanted by the US for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, is accused of trafficking drones, some of which were reportedly used during a deadly attack in Jordan.
His arrest has led to a diplomatic spat, with Tehran summoning ambassadors from Switzerland and Italy.
Questioned about Najafabadi’s arrest, Tajani said: “There is a Swiss-Iranian prisoner who was arrested in Malpensa before Cecilia Sala in Tehran because there was an international arrest warrant issued by the US.’’
“The prisoner, since he has not yet been convicted, is being treated with all the rules of guarantee that we must provide,’’ Tajani added. “He received a consular visit, his lawyer had the opportunity to learn the charges, but they are charges that come from an international arrest warrant, it is not an Italian choice, Italy is not competent for the criminal proceedings of this Iranian. Then we will see about extradition. For the moment he is being held in prison with all the guarantees that are owed to a non-Italian prisoner.”
Sala has nearly half a million followers on Instagram and is a regular guest on Italian talkshows. She has covered among other topics the fall of Kabul and the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the crisis in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, is closely following the case and all efforts are being made to bring Sala home, her office at Palazzo Chigi said.
The European Commission’s foreign policy spokesperson, Anouar El Anouni, has confirmed close monitoring of the Italian journalist’s “sensitive” situation.
Iran has not acknowledged detaining Sala and her charges remain unknown.
