Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Julian Assange are cousins, connections reveal

Sources close to Julian Assange repeat claims that he is the cousin of recently-freed Iranian hostage Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert (left) and Julian Assange.

Sources close to Julian Assange have repeated claims that he is the cousin of recently freed Iranian hostage Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

Assange’s partner Stella Moris first revealed the close family ties when Dr Moore-Gilbert, a University of Melbourne academic, was released in a prison swap with three convicted Iranian terrorists held in Thailand.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert prepares to board her flight back to Australia after being released from jail in Iran. Picture: iribnews.ir

Ms Moris said Dr Moore-Gilbert was Assange’s cousin and added: “Like Julian, Kylie was charged in a bogus espionage case. She was tried in secret and convicted to 10 years. She spent two years in Iran’s most notorious prisons. There has barely been news about her case, other than letters smuggled from prison.

“Julian has petitioned Iran’s leaders to release her earlier this year. I told Julian the news over the phone. He wants to express his gratitude to Australian and UK diplomats for securing her freedom.”

The cousin links were yesterday repeated by former British foreign office diplomat Craig Murray.

I was asked to keep confidential that Kylie Moore-Gilbert was Julian's cousin, in case it complicated her release.
Now that she is free, it is a good moment to say what a remarkably brilliant family they are, and I trust it is a good omen for Julian.

— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) November 29, 2020

Mr Murray, the ex- British ambassador to Uzbekistan, has been a diligent follower of Assange’s court appearances.

“I was asked to keep confidential that Kylie Moore-Gilbert was Julian’s cousin, in case it complicated her release,” he tweeted.

“Now that she is free, it is a good moment to say what a remarkably brilliant family they are, and I trust it is a good omen for Julian.”

But the family relationship was either unknown or kept secret by Dr Moore-Gilbert who wrote back in 2011 about her experience of meeting Assange, a guest lecturer, when she was studying at the University of Cambridge.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert (left) is seen as she leaves Iran. Picture: iribnews.ir

“Meeting Assange in the flesh was a wonderful, if somewhat nerve-racking experience, and opportunities such as this are one of the big bonuses of going to a university such as Cambridge,” she wrote for her Bathurst local paper The Western Advocate.

“There was quite a scrum of students around him and I had to fight my way to the front, but was able to get his attention and speak to him for about five minutes.

“Assange saw my name tag (Kylie) and asked if I was Australian. I said I was.”

Assange is awaiting a British court judgment about being extradited to the United States, with the judge due to hand down her decision on January 4.

He faces up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted of the charges brought by the US, which includes 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act.