The journalist stopped in Iran

Cecilia Sala's arrest, Meloni: let's follow up to bring her home as soon as possible

The reporter's father: thank you for the attention on my daughter

by Redaction Rome

27 December 2024

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Cecilia Sala in carcere in Iran, Tajani: "Sta bene"

5' min read

Key points

Schlein: government brings Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible
Conte: concern over Sala, diplomacy working to bring her home
Renzi: maximum support for government efforts
Gozi (Renew): strive for immediate release
Cerasa: journalism is not crime, bring Cecilia home
Mario Calabresi: Cecilia and the passion for Iranian women

5' min read

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ""has been following the complex affair of Cecilia Sala with constant attention since the day she was detained on 19 December. And she is keeping in close contact with the foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, and with the undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, in order to bring the Italian journalist home as soon as possible". Thus in a note from Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister intervened on the affair of the Italian journalist, a reporter for Il Foglio and Chora Media, in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison since 19 December without any formalised charges by the Iranian authorities. 'In agreement with her parents,' the note continues, 'this objective is being pursued by activating all possible interlocutions and with the necessary caution, which it is hoped will continue to be observed by the Italian media as well.

Sala's dad: thanks for the attention on my daughter

"I thank everyone for the attention they are paying to my daughter," Renato Sala, Cecilia's father, told Ansa.

Tajani: 'decent treatment, he is in a single cell'

"We still do not have the charges" for Cecilia Sala "because the lawyer has not yet had the opportunity to visit her in prison. We hope that she will be able to do so in the coming days and that she will have the precise charges as soon as possible'. So said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaking to reporters in the Senate about the condition of journalist Cecilia Sala, detained in Iran since 19 December. The journalist's treatment 'seems to me to be, as the ambassador has seen, a dignified treatment, respectful of the dignity of the person: we will continue to verify this with the consular visits we will make, at the moment we have not had any negative signals, on the contrary. She is detained, of course, so it is not an ideal condition. However, she is being fed and is in a single cell, I would not speak of solitary confinement,' continued the Farnesina official.

Minister Crosetto: 'Need high-level political and diplomatic action'

"From day one, ever since the news broke of the unacceptable arrest of Cecilia Sala by the Iranian authorities, the entire government, first and foremost President Giorgia Meloni and Minister Tajani, has moved to have her freed." This was written by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on X. "Every person who could and can be useful to achieve this goal has set to work," he added. "Negotiations with Iran cannot be resolved, unfortunately, with the involvement of western public opinion and the force of popular outrage, but only with high-level political and diplomatic action. Italy is working tirelessly to free it, following every path'.

Schlein: government brings Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible

There were numerous and immediate reactions to the news of the Italian journalist's arrest. Among the first interventions was that of the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein. "We are very concerned about the arrest of journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran,' Schlein said, 'and we are following the case closely and with great apprehension. We immediately ask the government, with whom we are already in contact, to take every useful initiative to shed light on this affair, to clarify the reasons for this detention and, above all, to bring Cecilia Sala back to Italy as soon as possible'.

Conte: concern for Sala, diplomacy is working

"I cannot hide my concern about what is happening in Iran to our compatriot Cecilia Sala. I am sure that Italian diplomacy is working unsparingly to bring her home safe and sound, and we trust that every effort will be made for her release and return to Italy. In these dramatic and distressing hours, I would like to send a sincere embrace to her loved ones and her family'. Thus in a note Giuseppe Conte, president of the 5 Star Movement.

"We express our concern and condemn the arrest in Iran of journalist Cecilia Sala, who has been held in solitary confinement for a week. We demand immediate explanations from the government in Tehran, which must respect press freedom and release our compatriot immediately. We ask Foreign Minister Tajani to report back to Parliament immediately," said the Movimento 5 Stelle parliamentarians from the House and Senate groups.

Renzi: maximum support for government efforts

"Right now the only thing that matters is that Cecilia Sala comes home immediately. Maximum support for the government's diplomatic efforts. And a big hug to Cecilia's family and her journalist colleagues,' writes Iv leader Matteo Renzi on X.

Gozi (Renew): strive for immediate release

'The Italian government and the European Union should work without delay to obtain Cecilia Sala's immediate release. Courage Cecilia, we are with you'. This was written on X by MEP Sandro Gozi, secretary general of the European Democratic Party and member of the presidency of Renew Europe.

Cerasa: journalism is not crime, bring Cecilia home

"The point is as simple as it is dramatic: journalism is not a crime, and for once writing it is not rhetoric but a living, real and frightening reality. What follows is an article that we would never have wanted to write, but the dynamics of the facts force us to give an account of a serious fact that also concerns this newspaper'. This was written by the editor-in-chief of the Foglio, Claudio Cerasa, in an editorial published on the newspaper's website after the arrest of Cecilia Sala, who works for the newspaper.

Mario Calabresi: Cecilia and the passion for Iranian women

"Cecilia Sala is an extraordinarily courageous journalist, who for the past two years has edited the Stories podcast for Chora News, the most watched daily in Italy. She is used to going into the field: she is not a freelancer, but she is regularly hired by Chora, she travels with all the protections and she entered Iran in agreement with the authorities, in a regular and transparent way. She is an Italian journalist who was arrested while doing her job. No charges have been filed at the moment'. This was emphasised by Mario Calabresi, director and co-founder of Chora Media. 'Cecilia,' recalls the former editor of Repubblica, 'was in Ukraine, for many weeks at the front, but also in Sudan, and then in Iran, which is her passion. Indeed, Iranian girls and their courage are her passion: she wanted to go back there, to talk to the many friends whose stories she told in the book L'incendio, which she wrote for Mondadori. She wanted to give a voice to these girls who no longer wear the veil, who dream of a different life, who seek their freedom'.

Cecilia Sala, Calabresi points out, 'got a regular visa for eight days and started doing her interviews. Three episodes of the podcast have already been released and she had material to make more. Thursday was her last day, she would return to Italy on Friday. In the early afternoon, when we expected her to send the episode, nothing happened and her phone went silent. Until the next morning we heard nothing: we verified that she had not taken the plane home and had not even checked in. Together with her family and her companion, Daniele Raineri, we alerted the Farnesina crisis unit. The embassy was alerted and sent a person to the airport, but there was no trace of Cecilia. Late Friday morning, she was allowed to make a brief phone call to her mother, but she was evidently reading a sheet of paper with the few sentences she could say: when her mother tried to ask her where she was or why she had been arrested, she merely repeated 'I can't'. From that moment on, we kept in daily contact with the Farnesina and Palazzo Chigi, maintaining the pact of silence in the hope that it would allow Cecilia's release more quickly. Today the Farnesina made the arrest official because it realised that the news could no longer be kept'.