Journalism is not a crime. Bring Cecilia Sala home

Journalism is not a crime. Bring Cecilia Sala home

The issue is clear-cut and dramatic: journalism is not a crime. And for once, writing it is not a rhetorical statement but a vivid, real, and terrifying truth. What follows is an article we never wanted to write, but the nature of the events compels us to report on a grave matter that also affects this newspaper.

On December 19, our journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Iran and is now detained in Evin Prison, located in the northern part of the capital. Cecilia was in Iran, with a valid visa, to cover a country she knows and loves — a country where information is stifled through repression, threats, intimidation, violence, and detentions, often targeting journalists themselves.

We decided to publish Cecilia’s story after receiving assurances from our diplomatic officials that informing our readers of her arrest would not hinder diplomatic efforts to bring her home.

As you may know, Iran is one of the worst places in the world to be a journalist. It ranks among the planet's most repressive countries in terms of press freedom. The 2024 Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, places Iran at 176th out of 180 countries.

Since 2022, when the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests began, 79 journalists have been arrested, with some receiving severe sentences. In the first half of 2024, Iranian authorities arrested or convicted at least 34 journalists.

For years, Iran has been accused of pressuring foreign governments by doing what the Russian regime is also notorious for: illegally arresting or "taking hostage" foreign nationals. In mid-December, shortly after the arrest of an Iranian-American journalist, Reza Valizadeh, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for "collaboration with a hostile government," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reminded the world that, throughout the year, the Iranian government has systematically repressed press freedom through threats, intimidation, detentions, forced confessions, and violence against journalists.

Miller called for Valizadeh's "immediate release and the release of all political prisoners in Iran."

Today, we make the same appeal to the government, to the ministers, to the Prime Minister, to the head of state, to the delegated authorities, and to the relevant bodies.

By arresting Cecilia, Iran has chosen to challenge not just a journalist, not just a newspaper, not just a media outlet, but everything the West considers universally inviolable: our freedom.

This is not the time for rhetoric. It is not the time to remind ourselves of the nature of the Islamic Republic, the irresponsibility of portraying an Islamist regime as capable of moderation, or the many opportunities lost by the public to expose the horrors of the Iranian regime.

It is the time to remember the obvious: Iran wants to use Cecilia’s life to demonstrate the regime’s strength. Let us show them our strength by doing everything possible to keep her story on the pages of our newspapers, to remind the authorities how dangerous it is to hesitate in responding to an attack on press freedom, and to ensure she is brought home.

Journalism is not a crime, even in countries that repress every freedom, including freedom of the press.

Bring her home.