Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert transferred to ‘worst female prison in world’

Australian officials are urgently seeking contact with Kylie Moore-Gilbert who has been transferred to notorious Qarchak prison in Iran.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert is serving a 10 year sentence in Iran. Picture: University of Melbourne

Australian government officials are urgently seeking contact with University of Melbourne lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert who has been suddenly transferred from the notorious Evin prison in Tehran to what is described as another hellhole - Qarchak prison in Iran.

The Australian government said Dr Moore-Gilbert, sentenced to 10 years’ jail after being arrested at Tehran airport on spying charges in 2018, is one of the highest priorities for embassy officials in Tehran.

Reza Khandan, the husband of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is incarcerated in Evin prison for her human rights activism, posted to his social media account that Ms Moore-Gilbert was transferred ”for punishment’’ reasons to Qarchak earlier this week.

کایلی مور گیلبرت شهروند استرالیایی که در بازداشتگاه امنیتی زندان اوین به سر می‌برد از دو روز پیش به عنوان تنبیه به...

Posted by Reza Khandan on Sunday, 26 July 2020

Mr Khandan said Dr Moore-Gilbert was able to contact him to say of the new jail: “The conditions are very bad I cannot eat anything, I am very disappointed, I am very depressed.’’

Diplomats from Australia and Britain had been seeking better conditions for Dr Moore-Gilbert and it is not known how the prison transfer, controlled by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organisation, came about.

While some say the transfer might be an improvement on the solitary conditions of Evin prison, activists say the transfer is a serious setback for Dr Moore-Gilbert as coronavirus is rife through Qarchak prison and there are only minute supplies of soap, which are sold to the prisoners at inflated prices.

Last month, the US State Department listed Qarchak as an entity responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognised human rights.

An academic specialist in Middle East politics, Dr Moore-Gilbert’s plight began after she was reported to Iranian authorities as “suspicious” by a person that Dr Moore-Gilbert had interviewed during a short academic tour in the country.

Dr Moore-Gilbert told Mr Khandan she had last spoken to her family about a month ago.

Evin prison is notorious for its brutality but Qarchak is believed to be the worst women’s prison in the world.

In a statement the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian government holds Iran responsible for Dr Moore-Gilbert’s safety and wellbeing.

“Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case is one of the Australian government’s highest priorities, including for our embassy officials in Tehran,” it said.

“The Iranian government has told us that Dr Moore-Gilbert has been moved from Evin to Qarchak Prison, east of Tehran. We are urgently seeking further consular access to her at this new location. We hold Iran responsible for Dr Moore-Gilbert’s safety and well-being. Our ambassador to Iran recently visited Dr Moore-Gilbert in Evin Prison, and she has had telephone contact with her family and the ambassador over the last several months.’’

Qarchak prison is in the desert to the east of Tehran and holds more than 2000 female prisoners, but has only 600 beds. Political prisoners are held in the same area as those who have committed violent crimes.

The prison is seriously overcrowded with poor sanitation. Head lice is controlled by shaving the heads of prisoners and washing it with bleach. Last month, Dr Moore-Gilbert was reported to have been beaten by Evin guards because she had defied the authorities by humming. As well as the beatings she may have been drugged to make her more compliant.

Mr Khandan has been trying to monitor the health of various political prisoners after his wife was jailed for 38 years in 2019 for defending female prisoners. He said earlier this year that Dr Moore-Gilbert’s situation “is absolutely unbearable and would destroy anyone’s soul and mind, and we don’t know what has happened to her in these past two years”.