Iran has arrested Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, Italy said

An Italian journalist has been arrested in Iran for more than a week, the Italian Foreign Ministry announced.

Cecilia Sala works for the newspaper Il Foglio and for podcast company Chora Media.

The Foreign Ministry said it was following Ms Sala’s case with the “utmost attention” since she was detained by Tehran police on December 19.

There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest from Iranian officials.

Chora Media said in a separate statement that Ms. Sala was being held in solitary confinement at Tehran’s Evin prison and that no reason had been given for her arrest.

Italy’s foreign ministry revealed that Rome’s ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, had visited her to check on the conditions in which she was being held, adding that she had been allowed to make two phone calls to her family.

It also said Italy was “working with the Iranian authorities to clarify the legal situation of Cecilia Sala”.

According to Chora Media, Ms. Sala left Rome for Iran on December 12 with a valid journalist visa and conducted several interviews, producing three episodes of her podcast Stories.

It added that she was due to fly back to Rome on December 20, but her phone “went silent” after exchanging several messages on December 19.

Sala’s other employer, Il Foglio, called for her release, saying “journalism is not a crime”.

“Cecilia was in Iran on a regular visa to report on a country she knows and loves, a country where information is stifled by repression,” the paper said in a statement on its website.

Last week, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest of two Iranian nationals, Reuters reported, citing Iranian media.

Iran was rocked by protests in 2022. following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September of that year. Tens of thousands of people were arrested in connection with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

Mahsa was arrested for allegedly violating Iranian laws requiring women to wear the hijab, and she died in police custody.