Italy Releases Mohammad Abedini After Cecilia Sala's Departure from Iran

Four days after the release of Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist, from Iranian prisons and her departure from the country, the judiciary and the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic state that Mohammad Abedini has been released in Italy and has returned to Iran. The media center of the judiciary claimed on Sunday, January 13, without mentioning the detention of Ms. Sala from December 20 until four days ago in Iran, that Abedini's arrest was due to a 'misunderstanding' that was resolved through 'the efforts of the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry and negotiations between relevant units of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence and the Italian intelligence service,' leading to his release. The Italian newspaper 'Corriere della Sera' also reported that Mr. Abedini was released from Opera prison in Milan based on a ruling from the Italian Minister of Justice and can return to Iran. Ismail Baqai, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also confirmed his release and stated that he arrived in Iran on Sunday. Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who has been accused by the United States of transferring sensitive drone parts to the Revolutionary Guards, was arrested on December 17 at Milan airport. Three days later, on December 20, Iran detained Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist, who had traveled to Iran with the permission of the Ministry of Culture. Following the news of Ms. Sala's detention in Tehran, the Ministry of Culture ambiguously claimed that she was arrested and imprisoned for 'violating the laws of the Islamic Republic.' The Italian newspaper Il Giornale reported on January 7 that Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, during a brief visit to the United States, managed to obtain the consent of Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, to postpone Abedini's extradition to the U.S. While the Iranian Foreign Ministry claimed that Ms. Sala's detention in Tehran had 'no connection' to Mr. Abedini's arrest in Italy, after Ms. Meloni's visit to the U.S., Iran released the Italian journalist, and now Italy has also released Mr. Abedini. Just hours before the Iranian judiciary's statement, the Italian Minister of Justice announced the cancellation of Mr. Abedini's arrest and extradition, who was accused of providing military technology for Iran to the United States, stating that the request for his release was submitted to the appeals court because the alleged charges against him are either not punishable under Italian law or there is insufficient evidence for them. Mohammad Abedini was supposed to appear in a Milan court this Wednesday to decide on his extradition to the U.S. The Islamic Republic of Iran has taken dozens of journalists and foreign citizens hostage during its 46 years of rule, many of whom also hold Iranian citizenship, and has negotiated their release with foreign governments. Mohammad Abedini, along with Mehdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who is currently detained in the U.S., is accused of transferring sensitive technology from the U.S. to Iran, which was used in a drone that hit a U.S. base in Jordan last year, killing three American soldiers. The drone was fired from Syria towards the U.S. base in Jordan.