ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Friends and colleagues of imprisoned Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert have expressed their concern after reports she has been moved to an unknown location in Iran.
"We are deeply concerned about the welfare of our dear friend and colleague Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert and the government's increasingly empty assurances that her case is their highest priority," read a statement from the FreeKylieMG group, saying that the Australian government has failed to achieve “any meaningful progress” in securing her release.
Moore-Gilbert and her belongings were moved from Qarchak prison to an “unknown location” on Saturday, according to the Iranian Human Rights Activists’ News Agency.
The academic was arrested during a work trip to Iran in September 2018, and was serving a 10-year sentence for espionage in Tehran’s Evin prison before being moved to Qarchak in June.
Both facilities are known for extremely harsh conditions and mistreatment of political prisoners. In letters to Iranian and Australian authorities, Moore-Gilbert previously described the “terrible trauma” faced by her and her family and cruel treatment from Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) guards.
RELATED: Iran’s jailed dual nationals: pawns in an IRGC power play
“If the reports are true, then an Australian citizen has gone missing within the Iranian prison system, despite the careful watch of ‘quiet diplomacy,’” the FreeKylieMG group added.
"It is high time that the Australian government rethinks its strategy," it added.
The Australian government has stayed relatively quiet on Moore-Gilbert’s case, but Foreign Minister Marise Payne said they are “looking into reports” of her disappearance. She is said to have been recently visited by Australia’s Ambassador to Iran Lyndall Sachs.
Foreign and dual Iranian nationals are often detained on charges of espionage.
Families and friends of prisoners in Iran have previously told Rudaw English of the use of their loved ones as “pawns” and leverage for Iran against foreign governments.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment