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.

After more than three weeks of detention, Cecilia Sala has been released from Tehran's Evin Prison and was met at the airport in Rome by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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, freed after three weeks in Iranian detention, returned to Rome, and greeted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Her release, tied to a US-wanted Iranian engineer, marked a major political win for Meloni.

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.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Iran nearly three weeks ago, has been released by Iranian authorities and was on a plane back to Italy on Wednesday, according to the government in Rome.

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.