The attorney general of Milan, Francesca Nanni, is set to issue her opinion on the release of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian citizen detained at Malpensa airport on December 16 following a request from the US government, according to Il Giornale newspaper.
Three days after Najafabadi’s detention, on December 19, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Iran on unspecified charges of "violating Iranian law." Her arrest is widely regarded as a direct retaliation for Najafabadi’s detention.
This decision by the Attorney General coincides with complex negotiations between the Italian government and intelligence agencies and their Iranian counterparts to secure Sala’s release.
While Nanni's opinion is formally separate from these discussions, it will determine whether house arrest for Najafabadi would be sufficient to prevent his disappearance while awaiting extradition proceedings to the US. A favorable opinion on Najafabadi’s lawyer’s request could be positively received in Tehran.
Iran has officially confirmed Sala’s arrest, with its state news agency IRNA reporting on Monday that the 29-year-old journalist, who works for Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic."
US authorities allege that Najafabadi supplied materials for a deadly Iran-linked drone attack on American troops in Jordan.
