Academic Moore-Gilbert alleges she was subjected to 'psychological torture' in Iran prison

A British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was held for two years in Iran on espionage charges, has accused the Islamic Republic of “psychological torture” in her first-ever interview after being released last November. According to Sky News, Moore also accused Iran of trying to recruit her as a spy while she was held inside the country. Moore said the authorities promised her to let go if she agrees to spy for them. 

Moore said the Iranian authorities wanted her to use her academic status as a cover story to visit other Middle-Eastern countries, Europe, and America to gather intel on behalf of Tehran. 

Moore, a lecturer on Islamic studies, was arrested in September 2018 at Tehran airport as she was leaving the country after attending a conference. The British-Australian academic was arrested by the intelligence wing of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite forces. During the interview, Moore said even the Revolutionary Guards couldn’t establish for which country she was spying for because there were none. 

'Designed to break you'

Moore, who is a cousin of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, told the interviewer that during the initial days of her detention, she was kept inside a room that was 2x2 metre in size. Moore said the solitary confinement was “designed to break you”, calling it extreme “psychological torture”. Moore alleged that the prison guards beat her up once and forcibly tranquilized her. After over a year of negotiation, Iranian authorities finally decided to release Moore in November 2020.

Moore was released in a prisoner swap by Iran on November 26, 2020, in an exchange for three Iranians, who were arrested in Thailand. Iranian authorities are yet to publish evidence on the basis of which they arrested Moore. After Moore was arrested, the Australian government had dismissed the allegations of espionage levelled against her by Tehran.

Moore said during her imprisonment, she learned about the Australian government asking the media to not report about the arrest, adding that was probably the best approach to about it because news reports could have made things worse. However, she added that her name being leaked in the media made her conditions better in the prison. Moore thanked the Australian government for its efforts. 

On the day of her release, Moore penned down an emotional note, saying despite the torture she left Iran with the same feeling that she arrived with, “as a friend with friendly intentions”.