Jailed Kylie Moore-Gilbert spied on by prisoners for Revolutionary Guard

Revolutionary Guard spies in her prison restrict Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s ability to get information out about her conditions.

The Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert is being spied on by two fellow prisoners loyal to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, restricting her ability to talk to other prisoners and get information out to the wider world about her conditions.

Dr Moore-Gilbert is currently held in desperate conditions in Iran’s Qarchak Prison – an overcrowded desert jail originally set up with inadequate facilities to try and wean addicts off drugs using techniques of near starvation and water that is contaminated with sewage.

Iranian human rights organisations say Dr Moore-Gilbert is being forced to buy water and cold tinned food at inflated prices, facing highly restricted choices and long queues for the two days a week that the prison shop is open.

Dr Moore-Gilbert was arrested at Tehran airport as she was preparing to return to Melbourne after a study tour of Iran. She was sentenced to ten years jail for spying, following a secret trial in 2018.

Kylie must not be next. Let’s bring our Australian citizen home @MarisePayne @dfat @ScottMorrison #KylieIsUs
8/8

— Free Kylie Moore-Gilbert (@FreeKylieMG) September 3, 2020

Roya Boroumand, executive director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran told The Australian that when Dr Moore-Gilbert was initially transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to Qarchak as a form of punishment at the end of July she did not have enough money in her prison account.

“Kylie didn’t feel comfortable that other prisoners were having to pay for her water,’’ Ms Boroumand said.

“But we now believe she has 18000 toman on her account, but a bottle of water costs her 2500 and what little food there is, is not fresh.

“Before coronavirus, food in Qarchak was scarce, but now there is a quarter of the food available compared to before coronavirus’’.

Iran’s Qarchak prison, where Kylie Moore-Gilbert is jailed.

Ms Boroumand said Dr Moore-Gilbert was being tailed by two other prisoners who report to authorities on all of her conversations, which has complicated receiving backdoor information about her.

“At the moment it appears from the little information we can get, that she is not ill and she seems to have some money, but the information about her is not as detailed as we would have liked, but it was the best we could get,’’ she said.

Ms Boroumand said it was important to speak out about Dr Moore-Gilbert because she was sent to Qarchak as a punishment “and if there is enough noise about her they will take her back to Evin, which is a lot cleaner prison’’.

Earlier this month, Australia’s ambassador in Iran Lyndall Sachs visited Dr Moore-Gilbert providing her with access to food, medical treatment and books.

But in its latest report, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran says the Qarchak water supply is both salty and contaminated with sewage. The report says Qarchak, officially known as Shahr-e Rey Penitentiary, has 12 wards to accommodate a prison population that fluctuates between 1200 and 2000.

The report says: ’’Every day, Shahr-e Rey’s sewer system overflows into the wards’ courtyards, filling the grounds with a terrible stench that draws in swarms of insects. Prison authorities have long been aware of the problem. The prison’s water is salty, resulting in hair and skin problems for the incarcerated people who have no choice but to shower in it. In the summer, the source of this salty water is sometimes cut off.

“The purportedly drinkable water — which has an odour of sewage — comes from a different source that is also cut off periodically in the summer, as it is the same source used for the airconditioning. Prisoners must buy bottled water from the prison store at a steep mark-up.’’