The Guardian: Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on hunger strike in Iranian jail
Published by Ali on January 22, 2020
International Liberty Association: From 27 December, 2019 to 21 January, 2020The Guardian has reported the condition of an Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who is on hunger strike in Iranian Jail.
The following is a summary of these reports, but you can read the full article on the following links:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/21/jailed-british-australian-kylie-moore-gilbert-rejected-irans-offer-to-work-as-a-spy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/27/australian-british-academic-kylie-moore-gilbert-on-hunger-strike-in-iranian-jail
An Australian academic being held in an Iranian prison has begun a hunger strike, along with another academic.
Cambridge-educated Moore-Gilbert is a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne. She holds both Australian and British citizenships, but was travelling on her Australian passport when she was detained at Tehran airport, about to board a flight out of the country after attending an academic conference.
Melbourne University lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran since October 2018.
She was accused of spying and has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years. A recent appeal failed.
In a letter dated Christmas Eve and published by supporters of Gilbert-Moore and French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, the women say they have begun refusing food and water.
Adelkhah was detained some months ago and is also accused of spying.
“I am entirely alone in Iran. I have no friends or family here and in addition to all the pain I have endured here, I feel like I am abandoned and forgotten, that after so many times of asking my embassy, I still have no money at all to endure all of this.”
Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson told the Guardian Moore-Gilbert’s letters painted a picture of desolate isolation inside Evin prison.
Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson told the Guardian Moore-Gilbert’s letters painted a picture of desolate isolation inside Evin prison.
“Perhaps the Australian government has been doing a lot behind closed doors, but if the quiet approach isn’t working, then it’s time to switch gears. Kylie herself has made it very clear in her letters that she wants the Australian government to act.”
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of jailed British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is also currently in Evin prison, said that western governments’ insistence on quiet diplomatic efforts over its citizens detained in Iran had proven futile, and a harder line with Tehran was needed.
Ratcliffe said the UK and Australian governments had failed to protect their citizens in a time of extreme vulnerability.
“The Australian and British governments have fallen short with Kylie in many ways – but it is the failure to ensure adequate food or money or clothes or even calls to her parents that really struck me. This is an innocent person caught in the middle of a government game of chess. If the embassy can’t ensure you have enough to eat in the middle of all their high-level diplomacy, then what are they actually doing? What are they actually for?”
International Liberty Association previously had a campaign to support Nazanin Zaghari, and in these new cases also calls international Human Rights organization to demand Iranian government to release these innocent academic people, immediately and unconditionally.
