Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist who was detained in December and held in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison flew home on Wednesday.
Sala had previously described the conditions in the prison in phone calls to her family, saying she was forced to sleep on the floor without a mattress and with a light that never went out.
‘See you in Rome’
Her partner, Daniele Ranieri, who is also a journalist, said he had spoken to Sala on the phone following her release saying: “She was excited and very happy. I told her: See you in Rome.'”
She arrived at Rome’s Ciampino Airport later on Wednesday.
“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make Cecilia’s return possible,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The 29-year-old, who worked for Italian newspaper Il Folgio and the podcast company Chora Media, had been in Iran for only three days on a ordinary journalist visa when she was arrested last month and put in solitary confinement.
Iranian businessman arrested in Italy
The timing was considered suspect, as three days before Italy had arrested Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini. Abedini is suspected of supplying drone parts that the US says were used in an attack in Jordan earlier in 2024 that killed three US service members.
A statement from the Italian government said that Sala’s freedom was “thanks to intense work on diplomatic and intelligence channels.”
Abedini reportedly remains in a Milan prison. The Iranian government has decried his arrest as “hostage-taking.”
Iran has arrested several foreign nationals in the last few years, usually on spurious espionage charges. Rights groups have said that this is part of a ploy by the government to gain leverage over other countries.
