Kylie Moore-Gilbert

Kylie Moore-Gilbert is an Australian-British academic and expert on Islamic studies. She is a lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute and has carried out research into revolutions in the Middle East, in particular Bahraini politics and protests.[2][3]

Kylie Moore-Gilbert
CitizenshipAustralian, British
RelativesJulian Assange (cousin)[1]
Academic background
Alma materWolfson College, Cambridge, University of Melbourne
ThesisShiʿi opposition and authoritarian transition in contemporary Bahrain: the shifting political participation of a marginalised majority (2017)
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Melbourne

She is the cousin of Julian Assange.[1]

From September 2018 to November 2020, she was imprisoned in Iran on a charge of espionage. Moore-Gilbert denies the charges the Iranian government made against her, and no evidence about her alleged crimes has ever been made public. The Australian government has rejected the charges as "baseless and politically motivated".[4]

Kylie Moore-Gilbert was released by Iran in a "prisoner swap" on 26 November 2020, in exchange for three Iranian prisoners in Thailand, two of whom had been convicted in connection with the 2012 Bangkok bomb plot.[5][6]

In December 2020, Iran launched a media misinformation campaign against Moore-Gilbert "accusing her of coordinating with a former Bahraini MP, Jasim Husain, to steal secrets for Israel". Husain was accused of teaching Moore-Gilbert Arabic and Persian, and offering to help her spy on Shia exiles in Iran.[7]

Life and career

Moore-Gilbert graduated from All Saints' College in Bathurst in 2005. From 2009, she studied Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge, and spent a year abroad in Israel learning Hebrew.[8] She graduated with first class honours in Arabic and Persian in 2013. In 2017, she obtained a PhD from the University of Melbourne for a thesis entitled Shiʿi Opposition and Authoritarian Transition in Contemporary Bahrain: The Shifting Political Participation of a Marginalised Majority.[2][9] Moore-Gilbert is currently Melbourne Early Career Academic Fellow and Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Asia Institute of the University of Melbourne.[10]

Detention in Iran

The intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested her in September 2018 at Tehran Airport as she was leaving the country after attending a conference. Moore-Gilbert was flagged as "suspicious" by a fellow academic and by a subject she interviewed for her research. She was subsequently tried and sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage. She was held in Evin Prison, reportedly in solitary confinement.[2] Iranian authorities tried to recruit her as a spy in exchange for her release, which she declined.[11][12] Sydney Morning Herald cited diplomatic and government sources to say she had been detained after it was discovered that she was in a relationship with an Israeli, leading to suspicions of her being a spy.[13]

On 28 July 2020, Moore-Gilbert is said to have been transferred to Gharchak Women's Prison.[14] In a phone call with Reza Khandan, the husband of jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Moore-Gilbert said she felt hopeless, isolated, and unable to eat. Speaking Persian on the call, she said "I am so depressed. I don't have any phone card to call. I've asked the prison officers but they didn't give me a phone card. I [was last able to] call my parents about one month ago."[15]

After she was jailed, Moore-Gilbert staged several hunger strikes.[16] In May 2020, her family denied reports that she had attempted suicide in prison, or that she has been tortured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.[17]

The Sunday Times reported in June 2020 that sources close to Gilbert's family had informed it of her suffering beating at the hands of guards, due to her looking out for new prisoners, suffering injuries on her hands and arms. They also said that the governor of Evin Prison had ordered her to be dragged to break her resistance. One source said that the beatings had caused her to repeatedly fall unconscious and she had major bruises over her entire body. Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was also held in Evin prison, said Kylie was being kept in solitary confinement and being abused severely, which had shocked Iranian activists who knew about it.[18] In August 2020, the Australian 60 Minutes program on the Nine Network aired an episode called "Living Hell" about her imprisonment.[19]

On 24 October 2020, Moore-Gilbert was said to have been transferred from Gharchak to an unknown location.[20] Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Australian Government was "seeking further information" about Moore-Gilbert's location.[21] On 29 October 2020, Moore-Gilbert was returned to Evin Prison.[22] On 25 November 2020, Iranian state media announced that Moore-Gilbert had been released as part of a prisoner exchange.[23] The Young Journalists Club, a news agency in Iran, stated that Moore-Gilbert was a "dual national spy [...] who worked for the Zionist regime", and that she had been exchanged for an Iranian businessman and two other Iranian citizens who had been held overseas.[23]

In a personal note written for the public by Moore-Gilbert on the day of her release, she wrote that despite her "long and traumatic ordeal" in jail in Iran and the "injustices" she's been subjected to, she departs Iran with the same sentiments as she came in: "as a friend and with friendly intentions."[24]

See also

References
  1. "Assange 'grateful for cousin's release'". www.theaustralian.com.au.
  2. "'She's not a spy': friends shocked over academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert's jailing in Iran". The Guardian. 16 September 2019.
  3. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert named as woman sentenced to 10 years' jail in Iran". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2019.
  4. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: academic 'terrified' and suffering inside Iran's Qarchak women's prison".
  5. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been released in exchange for three Iranian men — who are they?". www.abc.net.au. 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  6. Dexter, Anthony Galloway, Rachael (2020-11-26). "Australian academic traded for Thai bomb plot prisoners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  7. Safi, Michael; Doherty, Ben (2020-12-03). "Iran misinformation campaign accuses Kylie Moore-Gilbert of colluding with Bahraini ex-MP to spy for Israel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  8. "Tikvah Israel Fellows at Ein Praat 2011 Program". Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. "University of Melbourne: Asia Institute -- Theses". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  10. "University of Melbourne: Find an expert". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  11. "Jailed British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert rejected Iran's offer to work as a spy". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  12. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert, jailed academic, 'rejected Iran's offer to become spy'". BBC. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  13. "Iran detained Moore-Gilbert because of Israeli partner: Report". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  14. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Lecturer jailed in Iran 'moved to remote prison'". BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. Vasefi, Saba; Doherty, Ben (2020-07-28). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: British-Australian academic moved to notorious Iran desert prison". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  16. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Australia says lecturer jailed in Iran 'is well'". BBC. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  17. "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Australian's family deny she attempted suicide in Iran jail". The Guardian. 17 May 2020.
  18. Yeomans, Emma; Fisher, Lucy (17 June 2020). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: jailed Briton beaten for forming Iran prison choir". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  19. Abo, Sarah. "Today marks 717 days that Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been imprisoned in Iran". Nine Network. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  20. Drill, Stephen. "New hopes for Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert who has been moved out of a prison in Iran". The West Australian. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  21. "Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert moved from notorious Iranian prison to unknown location". www.abc.net.au. 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  22. Vasefi, Saba; Safi, Michael; Doherty, Ben; Makoii, Akhtar Mohammad (October 30, 2020). "Iran moves detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert back to Tehran prison". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  23. "Academic Moore-Gilbert released by Iran in prisoner swap". BBC News. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  24. "Academic Moore-Gilbert statement of release". The Daily Herald. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
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