Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, seized by Iranian security forces in Tehran on December 19

UPDATE, JAN 12:

Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has asked the appeals court of Milan to revoke the arrest of Iranian national Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi.

The Justice Ministry said in a note:

Under Article 2 of the extradition treaty between the government of the United States of America and the government of the Italian Republic, only crimes that are punishable according to the laws of both contracting sides can lead to extradition, a condition which, based on the state of documents, can’t be considered as existing [here].

The Ministry said the US charge of violation the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – an American federal law – does not correspond to any conduct recognized by Italian law as a crime.

UPDATE, JAN 10:

Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of a Swiss citizen in an Iranian prison.

The Ministry said the Swiss Ambassador is in contact with Iran’s authorities to “clarify the circumstances” of the death.

An Iranian judiciary official claimed the unnamed Swiss citizen committed suicide in a prison in Semnan in northern Iran.

UPDATE, JAN 9:

Speculation is growing that Italy will release Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi — detained on a US warrant alleging he provided materials for an Iran-linked drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan — in a delayed exchange for Italian journalist Cecilia Sala.

Sala was freed from Tehran’s Evin Prison on Wednesday. She was seized on December 19, three days after Najafabadi was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa Airport.

Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio reportedly met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday to discuss Najafabadi’s potential release.

UPDATE, JAN 8:

Iran’s authorities have released Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, seized on December 19 as she was reporting from Tehran.

The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a plane with, 29, left Tehran this morning after “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels”.

Journalist Daniele Raineri, Sala’s boyfriend, told the news agency Ansa, “I have heard from her … she was excited and very happy.”

Sala’s father, Renato Sala, said, “I’ve only cried three times in my life. I believe our government has done an exceptional job. I will tell her I am proud of her and of her ability and composure.”

Sala was reportedly being used as leverage by Iran’s regime to get the release of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian engineer arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant on December 16. He is suspected of providing materials for an Iran-linked drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan.

On Tuesday, prosecutors in Milan denied a request for house arrest from Najafabadi’s defense lawyers. A hearing is scheduled on January 15.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, denied on Monday that there was any link between the Sala and Abedini cases.

UPDATE, JAN 2:

Italy’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian Ambassador on Wednesday to call for the mediate release of journalist Cecilia Sala, in solitary confinement in Tehran.

Sala reportedly complained about the harsh conditions in Tehran’s Evin Prison, including having to sleep on the floor of her cell without a mattress.

During the meeting with Ambassador Mohammad-Reza Sabouri, the Foreign Ministry reiterated its requests for “dignified detention conditions that respect human rights…to provide her with the types of comfort that have so far been denied”, and for a guarantee that full consular assistance to Sala is permitted, including permission for Italy’s ambassador in Tehran to visit her.

During a phone call to her parents on Wednesday, Sala said she only had two blankets, one to sleep on and one to fend off the bitter cold. She said food was being given to her through a crack in the door, her reading glasses had been confiscated, and a neon light was on in her cell all day and night.

UPDATE 0843 GMT:

According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, Italy and Iranian officials are negotiating a possible exchange of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian arrested in Milan at the request of the US.

The Italian Foreign Ministry denied that Najafabadi is part of the negotiations.

US authorities say Abedini provided materials for an Iran-linked drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan. He was apprehended at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on December 16, with investigators claiming they found electronic components in his luggage.

Earlier this month, the US Justice Department charged Abedini and Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who was arrested in the US, with conspiring to export sensitive American technology to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Sadeghi pleaded not guilty in US federal court on Friday.

Iran last week summoned a senior Italian diplomat and the Swiss Ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, over the arrests.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explained:

There is a Swiss-Iranian prisoner who was arrested in Malpensa before Cecilia Sala in Tehran because there was an international arrest warrant issued by the US.

The prisoner, since he has not yet been convicted, is being treated with all the rules of guarantee that we must provide. He received a consular visit, his lawyer had the opportunity to learn the charges, but they are charges that come from an international arrest warrant.

It is not an Italian choice, Italy is not competent for the criminal proceedings of this Iranian. Then we will see about extradition.

A US State Department spokesperson said:

Unfortunately, the Iranian regime continues to unjustly detain citizens of many other countries, often using them as political leverage. There is no justification for this, and they should be released immediately. Journalists do crucial work in informing the public, often under dangerous conditions, and must be protected.

We are aware of the arrest in Iran of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala. Her arrest comes after an Iranian citizen was arrested in Italy on 16 December for smuggling drone components. We once again call for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Iran without just cause.

UPDATE, DEC 29:

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says the case of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, imprisoned in Iran’s capital Tehran, is “complicated“.

Tajani said he hoped the detention will be resolved quickly, but added, “It doesn’t depend on us. We’re trying to solve an issue that’s complicated.”

He did not elaborate about the nature of the complication, but said the official reason for Sala’s detention was not yet clear. He hoped the journalist’s lawyer can visit her soon and find out more.

The Foreign Minister said Sala is being held in a single cell, in decent conditions that Italy will monitor: “It looks like she is being treated in a way that is respectful of personal dignity. So far we haven’t had negative feedback.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 27: Iran’s regime has detained another foreign journalist.

Italian reporter Cecilia Sala was arrested in Tehran on December 19. She is being held in solitary confinement at Tehran’s Evin Prison in Tehran and no reason has been given for her detention.

In a brief call to her family, Sala said she is fine but added, “Act Quickly”.

Sala, who works for Il Foglio newspaper and for podcast company Chora Media, left Rome for Iran on December 12 with a valid journalist visa. She carried out several interviews and produced three episodes of her “Stories” podcast. The last, “Patriarchy in Tehran”, was posted on Spotify two days before her arrest.

She had been due to fly back to Rome on December 20, but her phone went “silent” after she exchanged a few messages the day before, Chora said.

Sala’s partner, journalist Daniele Raineri, and Chora contacted the Italian Foreign Ministry with their concerns. On December 20, Sala’s phone was briefly turned on and she told her mother of her imprisonment. She was not allowed to give further details.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry, which reported the detention, said it is following Sala’s case with “utmost attention”.

The Italian Ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, paid the journalist a visit on Friday to check on the conditions in which she was being held. She said Sala had been allowed to make two phone calls to her family.

The Ministry said Italy “has been working with Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala’s legal situation”.

Il Foglio said in a statement:

Journalism is not a crime.

Cecilia was in Iran, with a regular visa, to report on a country she knows and loves, a country in which information is suffocated by repression.

Iran is among the top eight countries in the world for imprisonment of journalists, alongside China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, Vietnam, Israel, and Eritrea.

For years, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized foreign and dual nationals, using them as leverage in political negotiations and prisoner exchanges.