Journalism is not a crime. Bring Cecilia Sal home

The question is unambiguous and dramatic: journalism is not a crime. And at least once, this is not a rhetorical statement, but a bright, real and terrible truth. The following is an article that we never wanted to write, but the nature of events forces us to report on a serious topic that also concerns this newspaper.

On December 19, our journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Iran and is currently being held in Evin prison, located in the northern part of the capital. Cecilia was in Iran on a valid visa to cover the country she knows and loves — a country where reporting is stifled by repression, threats, intimidation, violence and detention, often against journalists themselves.

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

As you probably know, Iran is one of the worst places in the world to be a journalist. It is one of the most repressive countries on the planet in terms of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 Press Freedom Index ranks Iran 176th out of 180 countries.

Since 2022, when the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests began, 79 journalists have been arrested, some of whom received harsh sentences. In the first half of 2024, Iranian authorities arrested or sentenced at least 34 journalists.

For years, Iran has been accused of pressuring foreign governments by doing what the Russian regime is also infamous for: illegally arresting or “taking hostage” foreign nationals. In mid-December, shortly after the arrest of Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for “collaborating with an enemy government”, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reminded the world that during the year, the Iranian government had systematically suppressed press freedom through threats , intimidation, detention, forced confessions and violence against journalists.

Miller called for “the immediate release of Valizadeh and all political prisoners in Iran.”

Today, we address the same appeal to the government, to the ministers, to the prime minister, to the head of state, to the delegated powers, and to the relevant bodies.

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

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

It is time to state the obvious: Iran wants to use Cecilia’s life to demonstrate the power of the regime. Let’s show them our strength by doing everything we can to keep her story on the pages of our newspapers, to remind the authorities how dangerous it is to hesitate to respond to an attack on press freedom, and to ensure she comes home.

Journalism is not a crime, even in countries that suppress all freedoms, including freedom of the press.

Bring her home.