Free Cecilia Sala

Why is this important?

In a desolate cell of only a few square metres, with no windows and a light that never turns off, Cecilia Sala experienced a nightmarish New Year's Eve. The 29-year-old Italian journalist has been locked in isolation in Evin prison in Iran for almost two weeks. [1]

No possibility of communicating with the outside world, no certainty about her own fate, detained without a trial: Cecilia is being punished for doing her job - telling the truth.

She was in Iran collecting chronicles for her Stories podcast about courageous characters challenging the system. Now, she has become one of them. [2]

American sources suggest Cecilia may be a pawn in a dangerous diplomatic game. [3]

Just days before, an Iranian citizen was arrested in Milan at the request of the United States. 

That’s why we must stand up to support her.

The second term of the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen has only just begun, but its credibility is already being tested. So far, the Commission has only been “monitoring the situation”. [4] But monitoring is not enough. 

With enough voices, we can force her to act. We can show that European citizens will not tolerate journalists being treated as bargaining chips. 

Freedom of the press is not negotiable - it must be a cornerstone of democracy, not a tool in political games.

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