Iran today rejected any link between the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Tehran on December 19 and that of Iranian Mohammad Abedini in Milan three days earlier at the request of the United States.
"These two issues have nothing to do with each other. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance issued a clear statement on the reasons for the arrest of the Italian journalist and announced that she was arrested for violating the laws of Iran," the spokesman said. -Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said at the usual weekly press conference.
Accused by the US justice system of providing information about sensitive technologies, Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini, 38, was arrested in December in Italy, at the request of Washington.
On December 19, just days after Abedini's arrest, Iran arrested Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, 29, in Tehran, saying she had "broken the law" while on a business trip.
"There is no connection between these two cases, although some have now linked events that occurred at the same time," the Iranian diplomatic spokesman said, quoted by the IRNA news agency.
On Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Italian ambassador to Tehran to protest the "prolonged detention" of Mohammad Abedini.
The day before, the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, had summoned the Iranian ambassador, asking for the "immediate release" of journalist Cecilia Sala.
"We continue to seriously follow Abedini's case," Baghaei added today, describing the arrest at the request of the United States as a "hostage-taking."
According to US authorities, another Iranian, Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 42, who has dual citizenship, is being held in the United States on a similar charge.
"We call on other countries not to allow their bilateral relations with Iran to be affected by illegal demands from third parties," the spokesman said.
Since her arrest, Cecilia Sala has been held in isolation in a cell at Tehran's Evine prison, according to her employer Chora Media, an internet portal that produces podcasts.
The Italian journalist, who was due to return to Italy on December 20, was arrested the day before her return.
On Friday, the parents of the Italian journalist appealed for discretion and silence from the media, to avoid making the solution to her case even "more complicated and remote".
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