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Kylie Moore-Gilbert

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Kylie Moore-Gilbert
Born1987
Gosford,[1] New South Wales, Australia
Citizenship
  • Australian
  • British
OccupationAcademic
Known forAuthor
TitleThe Uncaged Sky: My 804 Days in an Iranian Prison
RelativesBart Moore-Gilbert (uncle)
Academic background
EducationPhD
Alma mater
ThesisShiʿi opposition and authoritarian transition in contemporary Bahrain: the shifting political participation of a marginalised majority (2017)
Academic work
DisciplinePolitical Scientist

Kylie Moore-Gilbert (born 1987) is an Australian-British academic in Middle Eastern political science. She was employed as a lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute and has carried out research into contemporary political developments in the Middle East. The subject of her PhD research was post-Arab Spring Bahrain.[2][3]

Moore-Gilbert was invited to a conference in Iran in 2018. She was detained when she was at the airport preparing to leave the country. From September 2018 to November 2020, she was imprisoned on charges of espionage. She denied the charges, and no evidence for them was ever made public. The Australian government rejected the charges as "baseless and politically motivated".[4]

Moore-Gilbert was released by Iran in a prisoner swap on 25 November 2020, in exchange for three Iranian convicted terrorists in Thailand, who had been sentenced in connection with the 2012 Bangkok bomb plot.[5][6]

Life and career

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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 as a language student and researcher, including at Ein Prat: the Academy for Leadership.[7][8] She graduated with first class honours in Arabic and Hebrew 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 was subsequently appointed Melbourne Early Career Academic Fellow and Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Asia Institute of the University of Melbourne.[10]

Detention in Iran

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The intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested Moore-Gilbert in September 2018 at Tehran Airport as she was leaving the country after attending an academic conference. She was subsequently tried and sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage. Moore-Gilbert was held in Evin Prison in solitary confinement.[2] Iranian authorities repeatedly tried to recruit her as a spy in exchange for her release, a deal which she declined.[11][12] The Sydney Morning Herald revealed her husband, who lived in Australia, held an Israeli passport.[13]

On 28 July 2020, Moore-Gilbert was 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 launched a campaign of resistance, including staging several hunger strikes[16] and even escaping from the prison yard onto the roof of the IRGC interrogation block. In May 2020, her family denied reports that she had attempted suicide in prison, or that she had been tortured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.[17]

The Sunday Times reported in June 2020 that sources close to Moore-Gilbert's family had informed it of her receiving beatings at the hands of guards, due to her looking out for new prisoners, and suffered injuries on her hands and arms. They also said that the governor of Evin Prison had ordered her to be drugged 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 Moore-Gilbert was being kept in solitary confinement and was being severely abused, which 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 pro-regime 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]

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

During her detainment, the official advice to her family from the Australian Government was to keep a low profile, however in 2022 Moore-Gilbert said that greater media attention on her detention would have helped apply more pressure on both the Iranian regime and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to negotiate her release.[25]

After release from prison

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Moore-Gilbert wrote a memoir titled The Uncaged Sky: My 804 Days in an Iranian Prison, published in 2022 by Ultimo Press[26] in Australia and the UK and in 2023 by Urano World[27] in the US. The book was launched at The Wheeler Centre[28] and was shortlisted for the 2022 Age Book of the Year[29] and for the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction.[30]

Moore-Gilbert has made several documentaries about her experiences in Iran, including Escape From Iran[31] with Sky News and How Kylie Moore-Gilbert survived 804 days in Iran's worst prison[32] with 60 Minutes. Since her release Moore-Gilbert has appeared regularly in Australian and international media providing commentary on issues such as Magnitsky sanctions, hostage diplomacy, Australians wrongfully detained abroad, Iran's human rights record and the Mahsa Amini protest movement. She has appeared in episodes of ABC Q+A,[33] 7:30, 60 Minutes,[34] SBS Insight[35] and has written articles for The Atlantic,[36] CNN,[37] The Saturday Paper,[38] The Age[39] and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.[40][41] In 2022 she was profiled in the New York Times.[42]

Moore-Gilbert has been vocal in advocating for other victims of hostage diplomacy and wrongful detention abroad, and has spoken publicly about the cases of fellow detained Australians Robert Pether, Cheng Lei and Sean Turnell. She has also been heavily involved in activism against the Iranian government and regularly appears in Iranian opposition media. In 2022, Moore-Gilbert gave the Sydney University Michael Hintze Lecture titled Hostage Diplomacy: Who's in Control?[43] In 2023, she gave evidence at the Australian Senate Enquiry into Human rights implications of recent violence in Iran.[44] Later that year, the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney appointed Moore-Gilbert a Visiting Fellow to study international collaboration on hostage diplomacy policy.[45]

Personal life

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Gilbert married Ruslan Hodorov, an Israeli national of Russian heritage, in a Jewish ceremony in 2017.[46][47] In April 2021, she announced that she was divorcing him after she found out that he had been having an affair,[48] with Kylie Baxter, her colleague and PhD supervisor, and also an intermediary between University of Melbourne and her family during Moore-Gilbert's imprisonment.[49]

In 2023, the magazine Good Weekend[50] published an account of Moore-Gilbert's relationship with Sami Shah, a comedian and former ABC radio presenter.[51] In mid-2023, Moore-Gilbert and Shah had a daughter, Leah. In October 2023, the family was the subject of an episode of the ABC Television program, Australian Story.[52]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tuohy, Wendy (21 July 2021). "'I'm used to being alone': Kylie Moore-Gilbert finds peace in solitude". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "'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". the Guardian. 29 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been released in exchange for three Iranian men — who are they?". www.abc.net.au. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  6. ^ Dexter, Anthony Galloway, Rachael (26 November 2020). "Australian academic traded for Thai bomb plot prisoners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "The Tikvah Israel Fellows at Ein Prat". Archived from the original on 19 June 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  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. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Kylie Moore-Gilbert, jailed academic, 'rejected Iran's offer to become spy'". BBC. 21 January 2020. 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. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. ^ Vasefi, Saba; Doherty, Ben (28 July 2020). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: British-Australian academic moved to notorious Iran desert prison". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Australia says lecturer jailed in Iran 'is well'". BBC. 4 August 2020. 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. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  22. ^ Vasefi, Saba; Safi, Michael; Doherty, Ben; Makoii, Akhtar Mohammad (30 October 2020). "Iran moves detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert back to Tehran prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  23. ^ a b "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.
  25. ^ Coombe, Ian; Kelsey-Sugg, Anna (9 May 2022). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert spent over two years in prison in Iran. She wants Australia to rethink how it handles hostage situations". ABC News. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Kylie Moore-Gilbert". Ultimo Press. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Urano World". www.uranoworld.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  28. ^ Kylie Moore-Gilbert: The Uncaged Sky, 29 March 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  29. ^ "Age Book of the Year 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  30. ^ "The 2023 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  31. ^ SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Australian woman survives 804 days of prison in Iran, 10 January 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  32. ^ How Kylie Moore-Gilbert survived 804 days in Iran's worst prison | 60 Minutes Australia, 27 March 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  33. ^ A Foreign Affair: Boris, AUKUS, Ukraine and Assange | Q+A, 14 July 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  34. ^ Foreign operatives infiltrating Australia | 60 Minutes Australia, 6 September 2023, retrieved 8 September 2023
  35. ^ "SBS On Demand". www.sbs.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  36. ^ "Kylie Moore-Gilbert | The Atlantic". www.theatlantic.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  37. ^ Moore-Gilbert, Kylie (24 October 2022). "Opinion: Part of me wished Iran's godforsaken prison would burn to the ground". CNN. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  38. ^ 7am (18 October 2022). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert on the Iranian protests". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 8 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Moore-Gilbert, Kylie (11 August 2022). "'Sure you're not a spy?': How career and wealth have changed for Kylie Moore-Gilbert". The Age. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  40. ^ Moore-Gilbert, Kylie (20 December 2022). "Australia must use its Magnitsky-style sanctions more effectively to deter hostage diplomacy". The Strategist. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  41. ^ Moore-Gilbert, Kylie (17 October 2022). "Iran's revolutionary moment". The Strategist. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  42. ^ Mendell, Erin (10 December 2022). "An academic who was imprisoned in Iran welcomes Brittney Griner to a 'bizarre club.'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  43. ^ 2022 Michael Hintze Lecture | Hostage Diplomacy: Who's in control?, 9 October 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  44. ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Human rights implications of recent violence in Iran". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 8 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  45. ^ "https://twitter.com/sydneyciss/status/1684054150609530881". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 8 September 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  46. ^ Zlatkis, Evan (2 December 2020). "Video reveals Israeli husband". The Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  47. ^ "Australian academic: Iran tried to use me while jailed to lure Israeli husband". The Australian Jewish News. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  48. ^ Turner-Cohen, Alex (9 April 2021). "Kidnapped academic dumps hubby who had affair with campaigner fighting for her release". Seven News. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  49. ^ Sharples, Sarah (10 March 2021). "Kylie Moore-Gilbert said husband's affair was harder than dealing with 800 days in Iranian prison". News.com.au. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  50. ^ Cadzow, Jane (14 April 2023). "'What are you, a spy?': When academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert met comedian Sami Shah". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  51. ^ Mascarenhas, Carla (18 April 2023). "New man and baby on the way for Iran detainee Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert". News.com.au.
  52. ^ Hawkins, Belinda (23 October 2023). "Academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert and comedian Sami Shah met on a dating app. Together, they overcame betrayal and learnt to love again". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
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