Woman jailed in Iran is Cambridge graduate
Academic specialising in Middle Eastern politics one of two British-Australians being held at Evin prison
A BRITISH-Australian woman sentenced to 10 years in a notorious Iranian prison has been identified as Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated academic specialising in Middle Eastern politics.
Dr Moore-Gilbert, who was working as a lecturer and researcher for Melbourne University’s Asia Institute and has published work on authoritarian governance and activism in the Middle East, was jailed in October 2018.
However, her detention had not been reported in case it harmed the prospects of her release.
On Saturday, the Australian government confirmed Dr Moore-Gilbert was being held in prison in Iran.
A statement from the family of Dr Moore-Gilbert, who is incarcerated in Evin prison, said they were in close contact with Australian authorities.
“Our family thanks the government and the University of Melbourne for their ongoing support at this distressing and sensitive time. We believe that the best chance of securing Kylie’s safe return is through diplomatic channels.”
It is not known what Dr Moore-Gilbert was charged with, but 10-year terms are routinely given for spying.
She is one of two British-Australian women whose detentions in Iran have come to light in the past week.
Jolie King, a travel blogger, and her Australian fiancé Mark Firkin were arrested near a military site in Jajrood near Tehran on Aug 9, it was revealed on Thursday. They had reportedly been using a drone to film in the area.
They too have been sent to Evin prison, the main detention centre for Iran’s political prisoners, which also houses 41-year-old Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe, a British-Iranian mother who is midway through a five-year sentence on spying charges.
Tehran has pursued a campaign of detaining Iranian and dual nationality academics in recent years, raising fears the Islamic Republic is using them as diplomatic leverage.
The Australian government has said it is lobbying Tehran to ensure all three are appropriately looked after. Sources said Tehran sees the women as bargaining chips to secure the release of Negar Ghodskani, a 40-year-old Iranian woman facing jail in the US after pleading guilty to conspiracy to export prohibited technology to Iran.
Ghodskani was arrested in Australia in 2017 at the request of the US government and gave birth to a baby boy while in custody in Adelaide. She was extradited to the US and now faces five years in federal prison.
In April, Javad Zarif, the country’s foreign minister, proposed swapping Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe for Ms Ghodskani.
The University of Melbourne’s website says Dr Moore-Gilbert “specialises in Middle Eastern politics, with a particular focus on the Arab Gulf states”. In 2018 she was awarded a grant to investigate “Iran’s relationship with Bahrain’s Shi’a after the Arab uprisings”.
Dr Moore-Gilbert’s LinkedIn profile shows her first degree came in Middle Eastern studies at Cambridge, where she also completed her master of arts.
Marise Payne, Australia’s foreign minister, said she had raised the cases of the three prisoners “many times” with Mr Zarif, and denied the arrests were politically motivated.
Relations between Britain and Iran have deteriorated following the Royal Marines’ seizure of an Iranian oil tanker, the Grace 1, near Gibraltar in July and the seizure of the Britishflagged oil tanker Stena Impero by Iran in response.
‘We believe that the best chance of securing Kylie’s safe return is through diplomatic channels’