Italian journalist Cecilia Sala freed by Iran

An Italian journalist arrested in Iran last month has been freed and is on a flight back to Rome, the Italian government says.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on December 19, three days after an Iranian engineer was arrested by Italian authorities in Milan on suspicion of supplying drone technology that led to the killing of US soldiers.

He was reportedly held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

It is not known what led to Sala’s release, however the story was broken by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s officials who mentioned “a great work through diplomatic and intelligence channels”.

In Italian, Meloni thanked “all those who contributed to Cecilia’s return”.

He personally told Sala’s parents about his release, it added. Sala’s flight had already left Tehran and was due to arrive in Rome at 15:30 (14:30 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the Ansa news agency.

His friend, fellow journalist, Daniele Raineri, told Ansa: “I spoke to him and he said to me ‘See you soon’, he was emotional and very happy.”

The arrest of Cecilia Sala in a prison in Tehran has outraged Italians and has been the subject of much news since her employer, podcast company Chora Media, announced her arrest on December 27.

Meloni is understood to have taken the case personally and met with US President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend, where the journalist’s arrest is believed to have been discussed.

President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Rome later this week.

Iran initially said it had arrested Sala for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”, but US State Department officials said it could be linked to the arrest of Iranian national Mohammad Abedini at Milan’s Malpensa airport on December 16.

He was arrested on a US warrant and an official told Italian media that Sala was being used as a “political tool”.

Mohammad Abedini is due to go to court in Milan on January 15, and Tehran in recent days has denied any connection between the two cases.

The head of Italy’s intelligence agency, Giovanni Caravelli, is said to have gone to Tehran alone to bring Sala to Italy.

His father, Renato Sala, told Ansa news agency that he was proud of him and thanked the government for the “excellent job”.

He added that he felt things had turned into “a game of chess, but with more than two players”.