The release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained in Iran, is linked to the complex negotiations conducted by diplomacy and intelligence services. At the center of the negotiations, there is Mohamed Abedini Najafabadi, Iranian engineer arrested on 16 December at Malpensa airportand now disputed between US extradition requests and Tehran’s claim to obtain her release as a condition for releasing the reporter. The central crux of the story is intertwined with the imminent judicial stages concerning Abedini, captured in a Digos operation coordinated with the American authorities.
The house arrest hearing for Abedini
By January 2, 2025, the Milan Court of Appeal will have to schedule the hearing to examine the request to grant house arrest to Abedini. The Iranian citizen, 38 years old, is accused of conspiracy to export electronic components for drones from America to Iran and providing material support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was involved in a drone attack that killed three American soldiers in Jordan.
US authorities have reported the risk of Abedini fleeingsimilar to what occurred in the case of Artem Uss, who fled after being placed under house arrest in Italy. This concern makes the Court’s decision particularly sensitive.
To mitigate these risks, Abedini’s lawyer included house arrest in the request a guarantee clause with which the accused formally undertakes not to leave the established place. The Court will have to decide on this request within ten days.
Another important hearing linked to similar events will take place in the same days. On January 2, in Boston, the request for release on bail of Mahdi Mohammed Sadeghi, arrested in the United States on the same day as Abedini. Sadeghi is also implicated in charges related to the export of sensitive technologies to Iran.
The extradition process
In parallel, the extradition process for Abedini continues with still uncertain timing. Currently, the Milan Court of Appeal has only received the preliminary documentation relating to the arrest, while the documents necessary to justify the extradition request from the United States have not yet arrived.
When these documents reach the Ministry of Justice, the owner Carlo Nordio will have 30 days to examine them and send them to the Court of Appeal, which will have a further 30 days to decide. Once the decision has been issued, the minister will have another ten days to evaluate it, with the possibility of modifying it also for political reasons.
Biden’s role
Meanwhile, the Italian government is relying on diplomacy to resolve the issue. On January 9th, iThe outgoing President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will be in Rome for talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The Abedini-Sala affair could be one of the topics discussed, in the hope of finding a solution before the inauguration of the new administration led by Donald Trump, scheduled for January 20th.
If an agreement is not reached by January 20, the Italian government will be forced to manage the Cecilia Sala case with new interlocutors in Washington, a step that could further complicate the situation.
Source: Vanity Fair
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