A 30-year-old Italian globetrotter claimed to be detained in Iran and called for help, according to statements by her parents published Monday (October 3rd) in the Italian press, four days after the announcement of the arrest of nine foreigners in the country.
“
They arrested me, I am in a prison in Tehran.
Please help me...
,” Alessia Piperno said in a brief phone conversation with her parents on Sunday, the daily
Il Messaggero
reports .
"I'm afraid of not going out anymore"
"
I'm fine but there are people here who say they've been here for months and for no reason, I'm afraid I won't go out anymore, help me
," she added, after four days without having given news to his parents, who live in Rome.
According to the newspaper, the young woman, who has been traveling around the world for six years, was arrested on Wednesday, the day of her 30th birthday.
Her father said when last contacted with her that morning, she had planned a birthday picnic with friends from France, Poland and Iran.
Contacted by AFP, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) did not confirm the identity of the Italian.
"
We hope that Farnesina will do everything possible to obtain the release of Alessia Piperno
", tweeted the NGO Amnesty International.
“So many people have already lost their lives”
On her Instagram account, followed by nearly 16,000 people, you can see photos of her from all over the world, including the most recent in Iran, where she had been for more than two months.
On public posts, she appears to support the ongoing protests.
"
So many people have already lost their lives, so many people will never see this freedom they took risks and fought for, but if one day this country becomes free, it is thanks to these people, these women who descend in the street and set fire to their hijab (...)
”, she wrote in a text published last week.
On Friday, the Iranian authorities announced the arrest of nine foreigners, notably from Poland, Italy and France, in connection, according to them, with the vast protest movement triggered by the death of a 22-year-old young woman, Mahsa Amini, three days after his arrest for violating Iran's strict dress code, which notably requires women to wear the Islamic veil.
Read alsoDemonstrations in Iran: “The death of Mahsa Amini woke up Iranian men”
The repression of this movement has left at least 92 dead, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR).
Demonstrations were still taking place on Sunday to denounce this deadly crackdown, while rallies were organized around the world in solidarity with this movement, the largest in Iran since 2019.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/AD2TMVZ5XQUDUGJNBTOYF4FIIA.jpg)
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/KMEYMJKESBAZBE4MRBAM4TGHIQ.jpg)
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/EXJQILQR5QI7OMVRTERD7AEZAU.jpg)
