Iranian authorities have released Alessia Piperno, a young Italian woman who had been detained in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran since September.
The young woman’s return to Italy was preceded by an “intense diplomatic effort”, Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement said that Meloni had personally informed Piperno’s parents of her release via telephone, and “thanked everyone who contributed to enabling Alessia to embrace her family again.”
Piperno was originally detained in Iran on her 30th birthday, September 28, 2022.
Iran launched a massive wave of arrests following the outbreak of street protests related to the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, after she was held by ‘morality police’ for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic’s dress code.
“I’m fine, I’m excited and moved”, Piperno said, according to well-informed sources, talking on the phone with her parents on the plane that brought her back from Iran to Italy.
Yesterday, Piperno returned to her home in Rome, in the Colli Albani district.
The young woman crossed the threshold hugging her father, without making statements to the journalists who were waiting for her outside of the house.
Her parents however, spoke very briefly with the crowd of reporters:
“We are happy” they said, visibly moved.
