Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist arrested last month in Iran while on a reporting trip, was released and was on her way back to Italy on Wednesday, the Italian government said in a statement.
Ms. Sala, who had a journalist visa, was arrested on December 19 for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but officials provided no further details.
“The plane bringing journalist Cecilia Sala home took off a few minutes ago from Tehran,” the Italian government announced Wednesday morning, adding that “thanks to intense work on diplomatic and intelligence channels, our compatriot has was released by the Iranian authorities. »
Ms. Sala, 29, had been detained for 20 days and told her family she was kept in an isolation cell, with only two blankets and constant light, her family said.
Fars, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also reported the news of Ms. Sala’s release, citing the Italian prime minister.
On Wednesday, Ms. Sala’s partner, Daniele Raineri, said she called him and told him: “I’m free.”
“I’m so happy,” Mr. Raineri said as he prepared to go to the airport to greet Ms. Sala. He said the wait was “excruciating” but that Italy had done an “exceptional job”.
It is unclear how Italy secured Ms Sala’s release.
She was taken into custody three days after Milan police arrested Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a 38-year-old Iranian, on behalf of the United States. Mr. Abedini has been accused by the United States of supplying drone components to the Revolutionary Guards, the country’s main military force.
Iranian authorities said on December 25 that they expected “the Italian government to prevent the violation of the human rights of the Iranian citizen unjustly accused by the United States.”
Iran has often imprisoned foreigners and dual nationals to extract concessions from their countries, including prisoner swaps, but Iranian officials said on Monday that there was no link between Mr. Abedini’s arrest and that of Mrs. Sala.
On Wednesday, Mr. Abedini’s lawyer in Italy, Alfredo De Francesco, did not respond to questions about developments in Mr. Abedini’s case. He said he was happy with Ms Sala’s release and that he now had to concentrate on his client’s case.
Ms. Sala’s visit to Iran was her first since 2021, and since then, a lot has changed in the country. A new president had been elected, its shadow war with Israel had become open, and Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president and longtime ally, had recently been ousted.
Ms. Sala, 29, a writer and podcaster, set out to document the changing atmosphere. She interviewed a comedian and photographed women in cafes and on the street who did not wear headscarves, publishing a selection of images on Instagram last month and describing them as “the new faces and new streets of Tehran”.
On Dec. 19, as she prepared to leave her hotel for a meeting around noon, her phone was disconnected from the Internet, a family relative said. For 24 hours, her family heard nothing from her, until the plane Ms. Sala was supposed to leave on took off without her. Then they received a phone call. “I was arrested,” Ms. Sala told her family. “I’m not hurt.”
News of Ms. Sala’s detention became public about a week later, on December 27, after she received a visit from the Italian ambassador to Iran. Ms Sala’s detention dominated media coverage in Italy and President Sergio Mattarella mentioned her case in his end-of-year message.
Mr Raineri said Ms Sala’s plane was due to land in Rome on Wednesday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Ms. Sala’s parents on Wednesday to tell them she was returning, according to the government statement.
This is a developing story.
Leily Nikounazar reports contributed.
