Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist who was detained in December and held in Tehran's infamous Evin prison flew home on Wednesday.

Sala had previously described the conditions in the prison in phone calls to her family, saying she was forced to sleep on the floor without a mattress and with a light that never went out.

'See you in Rome'

Her partner, Daniele Ranieri, who is also a journalist, said he had spoken to Sala on the phone following her release saying:  "She
was excited and very happy. I told her: 'See you in Rome.'"

She was expected back in Rome's Ciampino Airport at 3:30 p.m. (1430 GMT).

"I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make Cecilia's return possible," said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The 29-year-old, who worked for Italian newspaper Il Folgio and the podcast company Chora Media, had been in Iran for only three days on a ordinary journalist visa when she was arrested last month and put in solitary confinement.