Rome urges Iran to free Italian journalist Cecilia Sala

Italy on Saturday demanded the release of journalist Cecilia Sala, who has been in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison for over a week.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she wanted to bring Sala "home as quickly as possible."

What did Meloni and Italian officials say?

Meloni said she was "following the complex affair" closely and that Italy was pursuing "all possible avenues of dialogue" to bring the journalist home.

Also on Saturday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome was working for Sala's release.

"We are trying to resolve a complicated issue and to ensure in the meantime that Cecilia Sala is detained in the best possible conditions," Tajani said.

Asked on when she might be released, Tajani said, "I hope shortly, but it does not depend on us."

He said that Sala was being fed and was being held in a "single cell."

Meanwhile, Sala's podcast publisher also called for her release.

"She was taken to Evin prison, where dissidents are held, and the reason for her arrest has not yet been formalized," the publisher, Chora, said in a statement.

"Journalism is not a crime, even in countries that repress all freedoms, including those of the press," it said. "Bring her home."

Italy's Foreign Ministry said that Sala was only able to make two phone calls from prison, one to her mother and one to her partner.

What else do we know about Sala's arrest?

Sala, 29, works for the daily newspaper Il Foglio and runs the "Stories" podcast. She had released a number of podcast episodes from Tehran before her arrest, one of which was titled "A conversation on patriarchy in Tehran."

She was arrested by police in Tehran on December 19, a day before she was due to leave the country.

In a video taken in Tehran three days before her arrest, Sala is seen discussing women who do not wear the veil in defiance of Iran's strict dress code.

It was unclear whether the video or the podcast episodes were related to her arrest.

Sala has visited Iran several times and had been given a work visa for her current stay.

sdi/dj (dpa, Reuters)