Italian Journalist Held in Iranian Prison, Italy’s Foreign Ministry Says

Cecilia Sala is reportedly being detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, a facility known for housing political detainees.

Alessio Romenzi, Sergio Splendore, and Cecilia Sala (via video link) during the “Gli orrori della guerra: storie dal fronte” event as part of the Terni Influencer & Creator Festival 2024 in Terni, Italy, on April 13, 2024. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The Italian Foreign Ministry announced Friday that an Italian journalist was arrested in Iran on Dec. 19.

Cecilia Sala, a reporter for the Italian daily Il Foglio, was reporting from Iran when she was detained by Tehran police. The newspaper stated Sala was in Iran with a regular visa “to report on a country she knows and loves.”