Late last month, I received calls from various sources and journalists claiming an Italian war correspondent, Cecilia Sala, had been detained in Iran. It was not safe to report on the case because public outrage could further risk her release, so our team held back on a statement. A few days later, we heard an official statement from Italian foreign affairs confirming her detention, despite Sala being a valid journalist visa holder. Then last week, Iran confirmed the arrest and detention of Cecilia Sala—a rare official statement coming from Iranian authorities.
We’ve learned Sala is in Evin Prison—a facility synonymous with the systemic repression of dissent, the same place where author Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and businessperson Anoosheh Ashoori were detained, and where activist and artist Reza Khandan, husband of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, currently sits.
Sala was arrested on Dec. 19, a day before she was supposed to return back to Italy. Italy’s government has denounced her arrest as “unacceptable,” and Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani has described efforts to secure her release as “complicated.”
At Women Press Freedom, we have called for international condemnation and for European and international leaders to take immediate action toward Sala’s release. After conversations within diplomatic circles, we learned Iran may have arrested Sala in an act of retaliation, linked to ongoing disputes between Tehran and Rome, including the arrest in Italy of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a 38-year-old Swiss-Iranian businessman. Using “hostage diplomacy” tactics on a European journalist is an an attack on the press and democracy itself.
During my two decades of reporting, before I started the Coalition For Women in Journalism (CFWIJ), I had only seen these tactics used by terrorist groups, drug cartels and the like. But hostage diplomacy is becoming more commonplace as a blackmail tactic by hegemonic states. A recent example is Russia’s arrest and detainment of hostages, including American journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich, who were used as bargaining chips in high-stakes geopolitical games between Russia and the United States. Sala’s prolonged detention would not only escalate tensions between Tehran and Rome but could also galvanize broader European and transatlantic unity against Iran’s tactics—something Iran may have already considered.
I am also deeply concerned about the treatment Cecilia Sala could be getting, being held in solitary confinement. We have heard of terrible treatment of women journalists inside Evin, including torture and verbal and physical abuse. “Pulling of hair,” “beating,” “restraining access to food and water,” and prolonged detention during injury and sickness with “no access to medical care” are all real examples of cases our team has documented. Even Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist and activist Narges Mohammadi was kept from seeking urgent medical care after being assaulted inside the prison; it took a massive global effort to get her temporarily released for three weeks for a tumor removal surgery.
If the international community does not join advocacy groups like ours and Italian news organizations calling for Sala’s release, it could also become the next symbol of significant failures in international diplomacy and human rights.
Iran’s continued detention of Sala sends a chilling message to journalists worldwide, particularly those reporting on regimes that suppress dissent. Ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Iran has a long history of targeting journalists, activists and foreign nationals to silence criticism and manipulate narratives. The country is a leading jailer of women journalists in particular, according to Women Press Freedom.
Journalism has increasingly become a high-risk profession: in conflict zones and authoritarian contexts, but also in more commonplace interactions on the global stage, where they face the risk of being used as bartering chips by rogue states amidst crumbling relationships between countries—creating a chilling effect on international reporting.
If Iran is allowed to continue its detention unchallenged, it will embolden other regimes to replicate similar tactics, further eroding global press freedom.
Leading our global advocacy work at Women Press Freedom, which involves working on similar complicated cases involving journalists being targeted for their work in countries like Iran, I can say with insight: Iran is far from worried about further straining its already fragile relationships with European nations. Yet every day Sala remains detained reinforces the perception of Iran as a state that thrives on intimidation, repression and fear. For a regime already grappling with economic turmoil and widespread protests, Iran is clearly tightening the noose on internal dissent and external pressure.
For Europe, Sala’s case serves as a litmus test for its collective response to Iran’s brutal tactics. The European Union must demonstrate unity and resolve in defending its citizens and the principles of press freedom and human rights. Failure to secure Sala’s release would undermine the E.U.’s credibility as a defender of democratic values and could weaken its position in future negotiations with Iran. The global community, including governments, media organizations and advocacy groups, must take decisive action.
Source » msmagazine