Iran confirmed on Monday that it had arrested Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the law", state media reported, a move that has been decried by Italy as "unacceptable".
"Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, travelled to Iran on December 13, 2024 with a journalist's visa and was arrested on December 19, 2024 for violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the official IRNA news agency said, citing a statement by the culture ministry without elaborating.
"Her case is currently under investigation," added the ministry, which oversees and accredits foreign journalists in Iran.
Sala last posted on X on December 17 with a link to a podcast entitled "A conversation on patriarchy in Tehran".
Chora Media, an Italian podcast publisher for which Sala worked, said she had travelled from Rome to Iran on a journalist visa, and was due to return on December 20.
On Friday, Italy denounced Sala's arrest as "unacceptable", and said she has been held in Tehran's Evin prison. Italy's ambassador to Tehran, Paola Amadei, has visited her.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that efforts to free Sala were "complicated".
Iran's culture ministry confirmed Monday that Sala had been allowed consular assistance and that she "has been in contact with her family by phone".
(AFP)
Taliban tells all NGOs employing women in Afghanistan to fire them
The ministry said it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by national and foreign organizations.
The government was once again ordering the stoppage of all female work in institutions not controlled by the Taliban, according to the letter.
“In case of lack of cooperation, all activities of that institution will be canceled and the activity license of that institution, granted by the ministry, will also be canceled.”
It’s the Taliban’s latest attempt to control or intervene in NGO activity.
Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council heard that an increasing proportion of female Afghan humanitarian workers were prevented from doing their work even though relief work remains essential.
According to Tom Fletcher, a senior U.N. official, the proportion of humanitarian organizations reporting that their female or male staff were stopped by the Taliban’s morality police has also increased.
The Taliban deny they are stopping aid agencies from carrying out their work or interfering with their activities.
They have already barred women from many jobs and most public spaces, and also excluded them from education beyond sixth grade.
In another development, the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered that buildings should not have windows looking into places where a woman might sit or stand.
According to a four-clause decree posted on X late Saturday, the order applies to new buildings as well as existing ones.
Windows should not overlook or look into areas like yards or kitchens. Where a window looks into such a space then the person responsible for that property must find a way to obscure this view to “remove harm,” by installing a wall, fence or screen.
Municipalities and other authorities must supervise the construction of new buildings to avoid installing windows that look into or over residential properties, the decree added.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing was not immediately available for comment on Akhundzada’s instructions.
