Italian journalist Cecilia Sala released from Iranian prison and on her way home

rome - Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been released after nearly three weeks in an Iranian prison. She is now on her way back to Italy.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been released from a prison in Iran after being detained for nearly three weeks. The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has confirmed that Sala is en route to Italy.

Sala was arrested in the Iranian capital Tehran while she was there for work. The 29-year-old journalist was said to have been detained for "violating the law" according to Iran. She had traveled to Iran in mid-December with a valid journalist visa and was scheduled to return to Rome on December 20, but was arrested a day before her planned departure.

One of Sala's employers, the Italian podcast company Chora Media, had previously reported that the journalist was being held in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, where political prisoners are also held.