Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Australia’s ambassador to Iran visits jailed Australian academic

The family of Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert have spoken after the Australian academic was granted a consular visit at a notorious Iran desert jail.

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The family of Australian academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert say they feel “reassured” after a consular visit found she had access to food, books and medical treatment.

Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Melbourne, was sentenced to a 10 years jail in 2018 on spying charges.

Last week, the dual British-Australian national was moved from solitary confinement in Evin prison to Qarchak, a notorious prison in the desert outside Tehran where conditions are described as abysmal.

Today the family released a statement confirming Australia’s ambassador to Iran paid her a visit on Sunday.

“We the family have been reassured after the Australian embassy’s visit with Kylie on Sunday.

We remain committed to getting our Kylie home as soon as possible and this is our top and only priority,” the family said.

“We continue to believe that Kylie’s best chance at release is through diplomatic avenues and are in close contact with DFAT and the Australian Government on the best ways to achieve this.

“We are thankful that Kylie has so many strong supporters and friends who love and care about her safe return.

We ask that you continue to respect both Kylie’s and our privacy while we concentrate on getting her home.”

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been transferred to a notorious prison in the desert.

An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the visit in a separate statement.

“Australia’s Ambassador to Iran made a consular visit to Dr Moore-Gilbert in Qarchak Prison on 2 August,” the DFAT spokesperson said.

“Dr Moore-Gilbert is well and has access to food, medical facilities and books. We will continue to seek regular consular access to Dr Moore-Gilbert.

“We believe that the best chance of resolving Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case lies through the diplomatic path and not through the media. Dr Moore-Gilbert and her family have requested privacy.”

A DFAT spokesperson last week said Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case was one of the Australian Government’s “highest priorities”, and that was no different for Embassy officials in the county’s capital, Tehran.

She strongly denies all the charges against her. The Islamic Studies expert marked her 33rd birthday in jail last May.

On Thursday, Dr Moore-Gilbert’s employer said it was “deeply concerned about the detention and treatment” of the academic in Iran.

The University of Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Maskell, said the decision to move Dr Moore-Gilbert from Evin to Qarchak Prison was “worrying and deeply distressing to her family, friends and her university colleagues.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case is one of the Australian Government’s highest priorities.

“The safety and welfare of our colleague continues to be our absolute priority and we hope she can remain strong and healthy,” Prof Maskell said.

“We are in close contact with Dr Moore-Gilbert’s family and will continue to provide the ongoing support and assistance they need during this extremely distressing time.”

Prof Maskell said the said the University of Melbourne was in close contact with the Federal Government and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), and commended the Government for continuing to work to ensure Dr Moore-Gilbert’s safe release.

He was pleased she had been allowed to telephone her family and consular officials in recent months and hoped it would continue.

The University of Melbourne’s concern comes after friends of Dr Moore-Gilbert on Thursday launched a public campaign for her release.

“We are a group of friends and colleagues of Kylie. We’ve worked with her, we know her well, and we can’t wait to have her home,” the freekylie.net website reads.

Those running the website say that while they respect DFAT’s directive to “remain quiet about Kylie’s situation so that quiet bilateral diplomacy can bring her home”, they “believe that this strategy on its own has failed”.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert who is currently detained in Iran.

“As of today, Kylie has spent 685 days in prison, with the government making little headway in improving her day-to-day living conditions, let alone securing her release,” the website reads.

“We are calling for a public campaign to raise Kylie’s profile among the Australian public, and to pressure the government to explore all diplomatic options to resolve the situation. We believe that this case has only a diplomatic solution and that ultimately DFAT will be the body that brings Kylie home, but we would like to show Kylie our support, and pressure the government to empower DFAT to do whatever it takes to bring her home.”

In a message to Dr Moore-Gilbert’s family, they said: “We cannot even imagine the pain you are facing with the continued detention of Kylie, and our wishes are with you and the family.

“We respect your decision to keep out of public as this case has continued. Although we had reservations about this approach, we too remained out of the public eye in hope that the government’s quiet diplomatic approach would work.”

They said they were “bitterly disappointed” to hear of the jailed academic’s prison transfer.

“To us, this means that after two years, the quiet diplomatic approach pursued by the government has not only failed to bring Kylie home, it has not even been able to prevent her transfer to Qarchak prison or ensure her basic comfort and access to consular services,” the website reads.

“We can’t in good faith remain silent any more. We believe that this campaign can go hand-in-hand with the quiet diplomatic approach that you have endorsed. Adding another dimension to her cause could provide some much-needed pressure to secure the political will here in Australia to get Kylie released as soon as possible.”

Originally published as Kylie Moore-Gilbert: Australia’s ambassador to Iran visits jailed Australian academic