Cecilia Sala, a 29-year-old Italian war correspondent, has been arrested in Tehran while reporting on the shifting political landscape in Iran, Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed. Sala, who works for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained on December 19 while working on a routine journalist visa.
The arrest of a foreign journalist in Tehran has prompted widespread international concern and calls for her release.
Sala reportedly left Rome, Italy, on December 12 and was scheduled to return on December 20, the day following her arrest. The news of her arrest was made public on Friday after it had been kept under wraps for several days.
Sala has reported from conflict zones around the world, including coverage of the fall of Kabul, the crisis in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing Israel-Hamas…
