Academic freed in Iran prisoner swap returns to Australia
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A British-Australian academic held in Iran for two years returned to Australia on Friday after being released in a prisoner swap.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert landed in the capital Canberra and will quarantine upon arrival, according to public broadcaster ABC.
Her release on Wednesday was the result of six months of negotiations, during which time she was moved to the notorious Qarchak prison and then back to Tehran’s Evin prison, where she was serving a 10-year prison sentence for alleged espionage.
Moore-Gilbert was arrested by Iranian authorities because of her partner’s Israeli citizenship and allegations she spied for the Jewish state, government and diplomatic sources have told the Sydney Morning Herald.
She was detained after attending a conference at the invitation of the Iranian government while conducting research in the holy city of Qom.
Moore-Gilbert’s release reportedly involved Thai officials, who agreed to hand over three Iranians convicted of plotting a bombing in Bangkok in exchange for the Melbourne lecturer.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to give further details of the agreement. “I have always believed in miracles and I'm just so thankful for this one as well to see Kylie coming home,” he said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
The Australian government has pursued a strategy of “quiet diplomacy” with Tehran – an approach highly criticised by colleagues and friends of both Moore-Gilbert and other individuals detained in Iran.
“Quiet diplomacy has been the Australian government's modus operandi up until this point and until recently we respected this position… it does not work,” Scott Patton, a member of the Free Kylie Group, told Rudaw English via email earlier this month.
“Public campaigns that draw attention and popular support for the imprisoned individual's plight are the most successful. They coerce the government to be more proactive and highlight to the international community how outraged the populace is,” he said.
Moore-Gilbert was vocal about her mistreatment in prison, going on hunger strike with cellmate Fariba Abdelkhah in December 2019.
The charges against her were “wholly unsubstantiated,” she wrote in a letter to PM Morrison in June 2019, describing herself as “an innocent woman facing a lengthy prison sentence for a crime for which there is not even a shred of real evidence.”
Kylie Moore-Gilbert landed in the capital Canberra and will quarantine upon arrival, according to public broadcaster ABC.
Her release on Wednesday was the result of six months of negotiations, during which time she was moved to the notorious Qarchak prison and then back to Tehran’s Evin prison, where she was serving a 10-year prison sentence for alleged espionage.
Moore-Gilbert was arrested by Iranian authorities because of her partner’s Israeli citizenship and allegations she spied for the Jewish state, government and diplomatic sources have told the Sydney Morning Herald.
She was detained after attending a conference at the invitation of the Iranian government while conducting research in the holy city of Qom.
Moore-Gilbert’s release reportedly involved Thai officials, who agreed to hand over three Iranians convicted of plotting a bombing in Bangkok in exchange for the Melbourne lecturer.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to give further details of the agreement. “I have always believed in miracles and I'm just so thankful for this one as well to see Kylie coming home,” he said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
The Australian government has pursued a strategy of “quiet diplomacy” with Tehran – an approach highly criticised by colleagues and friends of both Moore-Gilbert and other individuals detained in Iran.
“Quiet diplomacy has been the Australian government's modus operandi up until this point and until recently we respected this position… it does not work,” Scott Patton, a member of the Free Kylie Group, told Rudaw English via email earlier this month.
“Public campaigns that draw attention and popular support for the imprisoned individual's plight are the most successful. They coerce the government to be more proactive and highlight to the international community how outraged the populace is,” he said.
Moore-Gilbert was vocal about her mistreatment in prison, going on hunger strike with cellmate Fariba Abdelkhah in December 2019.
The charges against her were “wholly unsubstantiated,” she wrote in a letter to PM Morrison in June 2019, describing herself as “an innocent woman facing a lengthy prison sentence for a crime for which there is not even a shred of real evidence.”