Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, detained in Iran for three weeks, was freed on Wednesday and is on her way back to Italy.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was on a plane home Wednesday after being freed from an Iranian prison, the result of tireless diplomatic lobbying behind the scenes, the Italian government said.

Italian reporter Cecilia Sala has been freed after three weeks in an Iranian prison and is flying home, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Wednesday.

ROME (Reuters) - Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who had been arrested and imprisoned in Iran, has been freed and is on a plane taking her back home, the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Wednesday.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed from an Iranian prison Wednesday and was flying home, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said. Her release came three weeks after she was detained in Tehran while working on a journalist visa. Iran had accused Sala of “violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Sala has been detained in Iran since 19 December, three days after she arrived in the country on a journalist visa.View on euronews

An Italian journalist detained in Iran since Dec. 19 has been freed. Premier Giorgia Meloni's office said Wednesday that a plane carrying Cecilia Sala left Tehran after “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran last month has been freed and is on a flight back to Rome, the Italian government says. Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on 19 December, three days after an Iranian engineer was detained by Italian authorities in Milan on suspicion of supplying drone technology that led to the deaths of US soldiers.

Sala’s arrest in Tehran last month had sparked fears of a lengthy hostage crisis.

Italian reporter Cecilia Sala was released from an Iranian prison and is on a plane leaving the country, the Italian government said in a statement on Wednesday.