Italian reporter Cecilia Sala has been freed after three weeks in an Iranian prison and is flying home, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The Italian statement said that Sala, who had been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin jail, was freed "thanks to intense work on diplomatic and intelligence channels."

"I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make Cecilia's return possible," Meloni said on X. She was expected to greet Sala in person on her arrival in Rome later on Wednesday.

Sala, 29, was working under a regular journalistic visa when she was detained in Tehran on December 19, accused of "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic."