Italian journalist Cecilia Sala broke her silence about the 21 days she spent in Iran's Evin prison, sharing her story in a recent television interview. Speaking on the program "Che Tempo Che Fa" hosted by Fabio Fazio, Sala recounted the psychological and physical challenges she faced during her detention, as well as her affection for Iran despite her ordeal.
Sala was arrested on December 19 while in Iran for work, on a generic charge of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic. She was held in solitary confinement and subjected to daily interrogations while hooded and facing the wall. "Interrogations occurred every day for 15 days, hooded. You are always alone even when you are not alone; when someone interrogates you, you are hooded, facing the wall," she recounted, as reported by Sbircia la Notizia Magazine.
During her detention, Sala was interrogated by the same officer each time, a person who spoke perfect English and demonstrated a deep knowledge of Italy. The interrogator employed psychological tactics designed to wear her down. "During the interrogations, they make you relax; they give you a date or a cigarette. They also asked me if I preferred Neapolitan or Roman pizza dough. It's part of the technique," Sala explained.
She was held in a small, empty cell with lights on 24 hours a day and was deprived of her glasses and contact lenses, leaving her unable to see. "I can't see without my contact lenses and my glasses," she noted.
Sala also described the distressing sounds coming from other cells. "There was a girl who ran and banged her head against the door, and then crying, vomiting," she recalled, according to Il Giornale. The noises were "agonizing," and she feared for her own mental health. In a monitored phone call to her partner, journalist Daniele Raineri, she confessed, "I was afraid for my nerves, afraid of losing control of my nerves," as reported by Notizie.com.
Despite the traumatic experience, Sala expressed gratitude for her comparatively brief detention. "I was very lucky to be inside for only 21 days," she reflected, as noted by Adnkronos. She acknowledged that others had endured much longer imprisonments under similar conditions.
Sala's release came unexpectedly on January 8. "I would never have imagined that among the bars of Evin prison I would remain only 21 days," she said. "It was the fastest operation to free a hostage taken in Iran since the 1980s," she added, according to Nordest24. Upon her return to Italy, she described descending from the plane and embracing her loved ones. "At the military airport, they removed my hood, and when I saw an Italian face in a gray suit, I smiled the biggest smile of my life," she recounted, according to ANSA.
Sala managed to maintain some contact with the outside world. Phone calls to Italy were monitored, but she and her partner used a coded language to communicate. "We have a code language, so I was able to pass information despite the controls, like, for example, that I didn't have a mattress and a pillow," she revealed, as per Libero Quotidiano.
"I still love Iran and I love Iranian women who proudly wear their veils but don't want anyone to punish the girls who don't want to wear them," she said, according to Infobae. "My understanding and affection for the country have not changed," she added.
"I would not forget all those people still detained who do not have the luck of having behind them a country that protects you and takes care of you," Sala stated during her interview, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore.
When asked if she would return to Iran, Sala was resolute. "No. As long as the Islamic Republic exists, I would say definitely not," she asserted, according to ANSA.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.