Iran releases Italian journalist Cecilia Sala from jail

According to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office, Iran has released journalist Cecilia Sala following her three-week jail term.

More than three weeks after Sala’s arrest on December 19 was announced in a statement released by Meloni’s office on Wednesday. Tehran has refuted any claims that her arrest was connected to Rome’s arrest of an Iranian businessman, who the United States claims had been a part of an attack on its military.

The announcement was met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines. The successful negotiations to bring her home were praised by legislators, demonstrating how significant a political gain was Meloni’s.

On behalf of Cecilia, Meloni wrote on X, “I want to express my gratitude to all those who made Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to embrace her family and colleagues once more.”

She continued, adding that Sala’s parents had been informed of her release by her.

Held in solitary confinement in the Iranian capital’s notorious Evin prison, Sala, a reporter for the Il Foglio newspaper, had been working on a regular journalistic visa.

Three days prior to the arrest of Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini on a US warrant in Milan’s Malpensa airport, she was detained.

Three American soldiers were killed in a January 2024 attack on a US outpost in Jordan when Abedini and another Iranian were accused of providing drone technology to Iran.

Italian observers have speculated that Sala was being bargained with by Iran. Iran has frequently been accused of using Western-linked prisoners for these purposes.

Five Iranians and $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets were exchanged for in exchange for five Americans released in September 2023.

In the past, Western journalists have also been detained. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was detained by Iran in 2009 for almost 100 days before being released.

However, Tehran has flatly denied any link between the two cases. Abedini&nbsp, remains in detention in Italy.

According to Meloni, Sala was freed “thanks to intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels.” However, it made no mention of the Abedini case.

Apparently, the Italian prime minister spoke with Donald Trump, the president-elect, over the weekend.