Iran has protested against the arrest
of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, defining it "illegal and in line
with US hostile political objectives" and expects "Rome to
reject the policy on hostages of the United States" and to
create the "conditions for the release" of the Iranian citizen,
Majid Nili Ahmedabadi, the director general for Western Europe
of the Iranian foreign ministry told Italy's ambassador to
Tehran, Paola Amadei, during the course of a meeting on Friday
on the case of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who is detained
in Tehran.
"The United States take Iranians in the world hostage, imposing
their laws in other countries: this will not only damage
Iran-Italy ties, but is against international laws", Iran's
official IRNA news agency reports, quoting a note from Tehran.
Abedini, a 38-year-old Iranian engineer, was arrested at Milan's
Malpensa airport on December 16, three days before the detention
of the 29-year-old Italian reporter, under an international
arrest warrant issued by US authorities.
IRNA reported the note as saying: "The Iranian Foreign Ministry
summoned on Friday Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei for the
arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, on December 19, a
week after her arrival in Tehran, with a journalist visa".
The ministry's department of European affairs "protested against
the arrest" of Abedini Najafabadi defining it as "an arbitrary
detention", "in line with the hostile political objectives of
the United States to take Iranian citizens hostage in the most
remote parts of the world, imposing the implementation of US
domestic laws in other countries".
"This will not only damage the old ties Iran-Italy, but also
goes against international laws and regulations, including human
rights laws".
"Tehran expects Rome to reject the hostage-taking policy of the
United States and to pave the way necessary for Abedini's
release", said the department's director general during the
meeting, stressing that "Italy should not let our bilateral
connections be weakened by the United States", IRNA reports.
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