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Iran continues targeting Western journalists with new Italian arrest
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The arrest of the Italian journalist reveals a recurring pattern in Tehran's repressive policy towards foreign media professionals and their use as diplomatic pressure cards
Iranian authorities have detained Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Tehran, in an incident that sparked diplomatic concern, prompting the Italian ambassador in Tehran to quickly confirm the incident.
Reuters reported that Iranian security agencies began detaining the journalist on December 19th, placing her in solitary confinement for an entire week.
The podcast media organization that Sala belongs to announced her failure to return to Rome as scheduled on December 20th, explaining that communication with her was lost since the morning of December 19th after her mobile phone stopped working, while the Italian diplomat in Tehran began inspecting her place of detention.
This incident recalls a similar scenario involving Italian blogger Alessia Piperno in Tehran during October 2022, when Iranian authorities targeted her on the twenty-eighth of the month, coinciding with her thirtieth birthday celebration, and placed her in the notorious Evin prison, before the Italian Prime Minister's office announced in November 2022 the successful efforts to secure her release and return to her country.
These repressive practices reflect the hardline Iranian regime's approach in dealing with foreign media professionals and nationals, using them as pressure cards against Western countries.
Levant-Agencies
