‘Journalism Is Not a Crime’: Iran Holding Prominent Italian Journalist in Notorious Prison 

Latest Developments 

• Iran Arrests Italian Journalist: Prominent Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been detained by the Islamic Republic of Iran, reportedly being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. The Italian Foreign Ministry revealed Sala’s detention on December 27, saying that she was arrested on December 19 after reporting from Iran for nearly a week. The reason for her arrest has not yet been made public, but Rome said that its ambassador “paid a consular visit to verify the conditions and status of Sala’s detention” and that Sala has been allowed to call her family twice.  

• Iran’s Attacks on Freedom of Press: Sala, a podcaster and writer working for Chora Media and the Il Foglio newspaper, was covering social, economic, and geopolitical issues in Iran. Among her reports were interviews with a female comedian who had been jailed in Evin prison, a former commander with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), and a young woman who was rejecting Iran’s conservative values. In an editorial, Sala’s editor in Il Foglio wrote that “journalism is not a crime, and for once, writing it is not rhetoric but a living, real, and frightening reality” adding that with the arrest of Sala, Iran has challenged “everything that the West considered transversally untouchable: our freedom.”  

• Dual Citizens Used As Bargaining Chips: Aside from having one of the worst records of press freedom in the world and routinely jailing journalists, Iran regularly detains dual nationals to extort concessions from foreign countries. Just one day before Sala’s arrest, Italian police announced that they had apprehended a 38-year-old Iranian man in Milan, who is set to be extradited to the United States to face charges for providing “material support” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by “supplying electronic components for the construction of lethal weapons.” While police did not release the man’s name, he is thought to be one of two people charged by the U.S. Justice Department on December 16 for providing components for drones used in a deadly attack on U.S. forces in January.  

FDD Expert Response 

“Cecilia Sala’s detention is proof that even a softer line from certain European governments toward the Islamic Republic does not grant their citizens immunity or safety from the long and indiscriminate arm of Tehran’s terror. Now is the time for a collective European approach toward hostages and detained nationals in Iran, one that works to publicize the names of those whom Tehran has turned into pawns in order to create political pressure on the regime and impose costs.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow 

“Sala’s latest posts on X show her with a former high-ranking commander in the IRGC-QF discussing his operations outside Iran. This may have been used as an excuse to arrest her. It is likely that Tehran is trying to gain leverage over Italy, which is currently detaining an IRGC-connected sanctions-buster and whose prime minister is now a major player in European politics and who maintains friendly relations with influential figures in the Trump administration, such as Elon Musk.”— Saeed Ghasseminejad, Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor 

FDD Background and Analysis 

“Mapping the Protests in Iran,” by Mark Dubowitz 

“Tehran Arrests Iranian-American Dual National, Executes Jewish Iranian,” FDD Flash Brief 

“U.S. Charges Two Men Tied to Iran-Backed Drone Attack on American Forces in Jordan,” FDD Flash Brief 

“Iran Begins Trials of Two Female Journalists,” FDD Flash Brief