Journalist Cecilia Sala has been released and has landed in Italy
Rights — di Luigi Mastrodonato
After 20 days of imprisonment in Evin prison, in Iran, journalist Cecilia Sala has been released and on the afternoon of 8 January landed in Rome.
Journalist Cecilia Sala has been released and has landed in Italy
After 20 days of imprisonment in Evin prison, in Iran, journalist Cecilia Sala has been released and on the afternoon of 8 January landed in Rome.
- Cecilia Sala was arrested in Iran on 19 December, while she was in the country to carry out her work as a journalist.
- The 29-year-old journalist spent twenty days in detention under inhumane and degrading conditions.
- Her arrest appeared to be linked to the detention, in Italy, of Iranian researcher Mohammed Abedini.
Cecilia Sala has returned to Italy. The journalist was released during the night between 7 and 8 January from Evin prison, in Iran, where she had been held since 19 December. In the morning she was boarded onto a state flight departing from Tehran bound for Rome's Ciampino airport, where she landed at 16:10, in the presence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The journalist had been detained while in Iran to carry out her work and for twenty days remained held in inhumane and degrading conditions. Her arrest appeared from the outset to be linked to the detention, in Italy, of Iranian researcher Mohammed Abedini, accused by the United States of trafficking in weapons-related technologies. On 4 January, Prime Minister Meloni had made a lightning visit to the United States, to discuss (among other things) the Sala case with incoming president Donald Trump.
The arrest in Iran
Cecilia Sala, who works for Chora Media and for Il Foglio, was arrested on 19 December in Tehran, Iran, where she was conducting interviews for her work. For twenty days she was held in Evin prison, where dissidents and political opponents are detained.
Initially it seemed that her arrest was linked to her journalistic activity, given that she had repeatedly given a voice to anti-regime figures. As the days passed, however, it emerged that her case was connected to that of Iranian researcher Mohammed Abedini, accused of trafficking in weapons-related technologies linked to Tehran's drones, subject to an international arrest warrant issued by the United States and arrested on 16 December at Milan Malpensa airport in Italy.
The plane bringing Cecilia Sala home from Tehran is in flight.
Thanks to intensive work through diplomatic and intelligence channels, our fellow citizen has been released by the Iranian authorities and is returning to Italy. I personally informed the journalist's parents
Thanks to intensive work through diplomatic and intelligence channels, our fellow citizen has been released by the Iranian authorities and is returning to Italy. I personally informed the journalist's parents
Cecilia Sala's detention took place under inhumane and degrading conditions. A package containing comfort and essential items never reached her until the last day of her detention; her cell did not even have a bed and she was forced to use two blankets, one on top and one underneath, to sleep on the floor. The environment was lit 24 hours a day by a neon light and she was not permitted to wear a sleeping mask. The Iranian prison guards also confiscated her glasses and her interactions with other people were non-existent, to the point that even food — mostly dates — was passed to her through the cell's peephole.
The release of Cecilia Sala
On 3 January, Cecilia Sala's family requested a media blackout on the matter, emphasising that negotiations with Iran for the journalist's release were at a crucial point. The following day, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a surprise trip to the United States, where she met with incoming president Donald Trump, who will take office on 20 January. During the meeting, Meloni and Trump also discussed the imprisonment of Cecilia Sala and that of Mohammed Abedini, which the Iranian regime had stated was connected to the detention of the Italian journalist.
On 7 January, Cecilia Sala was moved from her isolation cell to a cell where another detainee was held, she received a book and managed to make a phone call to her loved ones, as reported by Il Post. During the night the journalist was released, as announced on the morning of 8 January by a statement from Palazzo Chigi. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed gratitude "to all those who helped make Cecilia Sala's return possible, allowing her to be reunited with her family and colleagues".
As reported again by Il Post, "the diplomatic agreement that led to Cecilia Sala's release stipulates that the Italian government will not, for the time being, extradite Abedini to the United States". The outlet adds that during her visit to the United States, Prime Minister Meloni obtained the green light to negotiate the journalist's release from both outgoing president Joe Biden and incoming president Donald Trump, without the matter becoming a subject of political dispute in the United States. The concessions Italy promised to the United States and Iran in exchange for Sala's release have not been disclosed.
The return to Italy
The director of Aise, the foreign intelligence and security agency, Giovanni Caravelli, personally travelled to Iran once he received news of Cecilia Sala's release. He then boarded a state flight with her that left Tehran in the morning and landed at Rome's Ciampino airport at 16:10.
The first photo of Cecilia Sala in Italy after her arrest in Iran. Our journalist has landed at Ciampino, after being released this morning from Evin prison in Tehran following 21 days of detention. ilfoglio.it/politica/2025/…
Waiting to welcome the journalist at the airport were Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, and the journalist's family.