ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Jailed British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been freed from Iranian prison in a prisoner exchange, according to state media.
Three Iranian citizens "detained abroad on trumped-up charges" have been exchanged for Moore-Gilbert, reported the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), describing the academic as a spy for Israel.
The University of Melbourne Islamic studies lecturer was serving a 10-year sentence for a spying conviction that she denies.
Moore-Gilbert is among a number of foreign and dual national detainees held in Iran, often on charges of espionage, compromising national security, and spreading propaganda.
Their numbers have grown in recent years as tension between Iran on the one hand and US and its Western allies on the other grew after Washington withdrew in May 2018 from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Moore-Gilbert's release comes shortly after news of jailed Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali imminent execution by the state became public.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde spoke with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on Tuesday in which the top diplomats discussed Djalali's circumstances.
"We will not comment on the conversation except to note that Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde reiterated Sweden's position with regard to the death penalty," Linn Duvhammar, a press officer at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Rudaw English on Wednesday of the meeting.
"Ahmadreza Djalali's situation remains very serious. Our efforts for him continue unabated. Sweden demands that the penalty that has been imposed on him not be enforced," she added.
With reporting by Fazel Hawramy
