Hostage Diplomacy

Hostage diplomacy

Hostage diplomacy

Hostage-taking method in Iran

According to Reporters Without Borders, at least 41 journalists in Iran are in prison, all of whom are Iranian. Since December 19, this number has increased to at least 42 with the arrest of the Italian journalist Chiarra Saracini.

Chiarra Saracini, in her podcasts for Chora Media, gave voice to women and their stories, the same women who for decades have tolerated what human rights activists call sexual apartheid.

If there is a law that violates press freedom, the same law is excellent in authoritarian regimes to keep people unaware.

Any attempt to narrate what is happening inside their countries is perceived as a threat to national security. However, there is another law that is completely Iranian and must be explained: hostage-taking through arbitrary and undisclosed arrests or justifying it with fabricated charges such as spying for the enemy or collaboration against national security, turning Western citizens or dual nationals into tools for exchange to achieve the goals and desires of the Iranian government.

It took six years from April 2016 to March 2022 for the beloved Iranian-British citizen, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, to return home. She was released after the London government agreed to repay a significant amount of nearly 400 million pounds, which had been pre-paid by the Shah almost half a century ago to purchase British weapons but never reached their destination due to the Islamic Revolution in Iran during that time.

Two days before returning home, Iranian authorities had summoned Zaghari-Ratcliffe and explicitly told her that it was going to be an exchange involving money.

It took less than a year in that same exchange for another Iranian citizen with a British passport, Anoosheh Ashoori, who had been arrested in 2017, to be released from prison.

On May 26, 2023, Iran and Belgium arranged for the exchange of other prisoners. Iran released Belgian aid worker, Olivia Vandecasteele, who had been arrested in February 2022 and sentenced to 40 years in prison for espionage. In return, they received their diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism.

On June 15, 2024, Hamid Nouri, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden in December 2023 for his role in the massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988, returned to Tehran in triumph. In this massacre, thousands of political prisoners were killed.

On the other hand, Johan Flodstrands, a European Union official who was facing the death penalty or life imprisonment for espionage, and Saeed Azizi, who had been sentenced to five years in prison for collaborating against national security and was severely ill, returned to Sweden.

Another hostage is Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish-Iranian medical emergency expert who had been a researcher at the Università del Piemonte Orientale in Novara, Piedmont region, northern Italy for years and was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death the following year on charges of spying for Israel.

Chichilia Sala is now a new victim of this hostage-taking policy. On December 16, Mohammad Aabedini was arrested for collaborating with the Revolutionary Guards at Malpensa Airport in Milan.

The United States has requested his extradition on charges of providing material support for an Iranian attack using a drone that resulted in the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan in January. Chichilia Sala was arrested on December 19.

After more than a week of secret negotiations, the Italian government announced on December 27 the arrest of Chechilia Sala and stated that she is being held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison but her physical condition is good.

In a phone call on January 2, the detained journalist rejected the claims made by her family, stating that she has not received the package sent by the embassy to the prison authorities, sleeps on the floor, and is even deprived of her glasses.

Chechilia’s family demanded media silence.

Negotiations for the release of the Italian journalist, who has been in prison since December 19, continue.

Our parents are in a critical stage, and there is a need for a sense of responsibility from everyone.

A hearing on the request for house arrest for the 38-year-old engineer detained in Malpensa at the request of the United States will be held on January 15. Tehran warned Rome to reject America’s hostage-taking policy, as it damages the longstanding relations between our two countries.

Chechilia Sala’s family, the detained journalist in Iran who has been transferred to Evin Prison, has asked the media to respect the news blackout. The situation is complex and very concerning. Her parents have written that the situation is complicated and very concerning.

Our government is making maximum efforts to bring her back home, in addition to the efforts of Italian authorities, privacy and greater accuracy are now needed.

The immediately accepted request has almost disappeared from the media, political statements and reconstructions related to this incident.

Furthermore, protests with an anti-Tehran focus have been canceled, including radical protests that decided to cancel the January 6th march in front of the Iranian Embassy building in Rome.

Negotiations for Sala’s freedom continue, while Iran warns Italy that Rome must reject America’s hostage-taking policy and awaits a session to review the house arrest order for Mohammad Abidini Najafabadi on January 15, who was arrested three days before the journalist’s arrest at Malpensa Airport in Milan at the order of the United States.

A critical phase

The call from the Salas family of journalists has been made. These days we feel the love, attention, and solidarity of the people of Italy and the media world. We are very grateful for all the actions that are being taken. However, the stages we have reached are very sensitive, and it feels like the extensive media debate on what can or should be done may prolong times and make problem-solving more complex and distant.

They further added that for this reason, we have decided to refrain from expressing our opinions and statements, and we request media organizations to maintain silence. We will be grateful for the sense of responsibility that each individual will demonstrate by accepting this request.

Nuncio in Iran, Rome, is making every effort.

The Apostolic Nuncio in Iran has announced that the diplomatic and consular representatives of Italy in Tehran are making every effort and employing their diplomatic professionalism for the freedom of the journalist.

Archbishop Andrea Yuzovich tells the ANSA news site, ‘I hope, with the help of God and Jesus Christ, Ms. Chachlia Sala is released as soon as possible.’

An Apostolic Nuncio is an esteemed diplomat appointed by the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to serve as a diplomatic representative in various countries.

An Apostolic Nuncio performs a role similar to an ambassador, but in addition to political and diplomatic affairs, their duties also include religious responsibilities and representing the Church in host countries. In fact, an Apostolic Nuncio acts as the Pope’s representative in non-Catholic countries or in countries with political and diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Tehran should not follow America’s requests in Rome.

In the Opera prison, Abidini has asked his lawyer to write the name ‘Chichilia Sala’ on a piece of paper. I will pray for myself and for him. According to reports, a hearing on the request for house arrest will be held in ten days, to which the Milan prosecutor’s office has given a negative opinion.

Even the US judicial system demands his continued detention in prison, while Washington continues to pursue the extradition of a 38-year-old mechanical engineer accused of conspiring and providing financial support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Yesterday, Paula Amadei, the Italian Ambassador to Iran, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran. She described Iran’s arrest of Abidini once again as illegal and in line with America’s hostile political goals. She expects Rome to reject America’s hostage-taking policy and create conditions for the freedom of this Iranian citizen.

Otherwise, this issue will damage the longstanding relations between Iran and Italy. Rome should not allow our bilateral relations to be weakened by America, and ultimately Iran demands the immediate release of Abidini.

Political leaders in Palazzo Chigi.

At the very least, what Italy is seeking is to obtain respectful conditions for negotiations with the aim of Salas’ immediate release.

Exactly on January 3rd, an emergency meeting was held in Palazzo Chigi with the presence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, Deputy Minister Alfredo Mantovano, and intelligence services.

Palazzo Chigi is a historic palace in the city of Rome, Italy, which serves as the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister and the seat of the Council of Ministers.

The government noted in a statement after the meeting that equality in behavior for all prisoners is guaranteed according to the laws of Italy and international conventions in negotiations with the United States.

Mother Sala Elisabetta Vernoni met with the head of the Council of Ministers and addressed her daughter, saying, ‘Try to be a soldier, Chelia. I am also trying to be a soldier.’

However, the conditions of prison for a 29-year-old girl who has not committed any crime should be such that it does not affect her for the rest of her life. The conditions should be such that a girl who is an honor for Italy is not affected.