Italian Justice Minister Requests Cancellation of Mohammad Abedini's Detention

On Sunday, January 13, Italy announced that Carlo Nordio, the Justice Minister, has submitted a request to the Milan Court of Appeals to cancel the detention of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi. According to Italian law, the courts are obliged to comply with the Justice Minister's request. The Italian Ministry of Justice stated in a release that under Article 2 of the extradition treaty between the United States and Italy, 'only crimes that are punishable under the laws of both parties can lead to extradition,' and this condition is not met based on current documents. The statement adds that the charges against Abedini Najafabadi by the United States regarding his alleged criminal cooperation in violating the 'International Economic Emergency Powers Act' do not correspond with any of the classified crimes under Italian law. Regarding two other charges of 'criminal cooperation to provide material support resulting in death to a terrorist organization' and 'providing or attempting to provide material support resulting in death to a foreign terrorist organization,' the Ministry of Justice stated that there is currently no evidence to substantiate these claims. The existing evidence only indicates that Abedini Najafabadi was responsible for the production and trade of 'technological tools with potential but not exclusive military applications' with the Iranian government through the companies he worked with. This action by the Italian Ministry of Justice came just four days after the release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained by the Iranian government. Ms. Sala had officially traveled to Iran with a press visa and had published reports on recent developments in Iran following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Some media outlets, citing a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department, reported that the detention of this Italian journalist by the Islamic Republic was in retaliation for the arrest of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a Swiss-Iranian citizen, in Italy. Abedini Najafabadi was arrested in Italy for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran concerning the transfer of drone technology to Iran. He was supposed to be extradited to the United States. In recent years, Iranian security forces have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals, mainly on charges of espionage and security. Human rights groups accuse the Islamic Republic of 'hostage-taking' to gain political concessions from other countries. The Iranian government denies this. Ahmad Raft: Meloni likely requested during her meeting with Trump that Abedini not be extradited to the U.S. France summoned the Islamic Republic's ambassador; protest against the government's 'hostage-taking.' Cecilia Sala, the 'hostage' Italian journalist, was released. Arrest in Milan, retaliation in Tehran; a knot in the relations between the Islamic Republic and Italy. An Italian newspaper: Cecilia Sala is a prisoner of the Ayatollahs. Meeting between Trump and Meloni coincides with the continued detention of the Italian journalist in Iran.