Iran released British-Australian Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on Wednesday, according to reports.
Moore-Gilbert, one of the country’s most high-profile Western prisoners, was jailed for more than two years on espionage charges.
In a statement, he praised the people of Iran and thanked those who have worked for his liberation.
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Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian Australian academic, is seen on November 25, 2020 in Tehran, Iran. (Via Iranian State Television AP)
According to The Guardian, “I have nothing but respect, love and admiration for the great nation of Iran and its loving heart, generous and brave people.” “Despite the injustice done to me, I leave your country with a bitter feeling.”
“I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions, and left for Iran with those feelings, but it’s still not intact, but I’m strong.”
Moore-Gilbert, a spokesman for the University of Melbourne about Middle Eastern studies, was picked up at Tehran airport and arrested for trying to leave the country after attending an academic conference in 2018. He was convicted in a secret trial and sentenced to 10 years. For the crimes he said he never committed.
“I am an innocent woman,” he wrote to prison officials last year. “[And] I have been imprisoned for the crime I committed and for which there is no evidence. “
“I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest in working for a country’s spy agency. When I leave Iran, I want to be a free woman and live a free life, not under the shadow of extortion and threats, “he added.
The Iranians released in exchange for Moore-Gilbert were described by Iranian state TV as “economic activists” who were jailed for trying to bypass sanctions on the country, although the report failed in more detail. They apparently wore the Iranian flag over their shoulders and outfits designed to conceal their identities.
The footage showed Moore-Gilbert in a gray hijab sitting in a clear greeting room at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, before he was seen boarding a plane flying the Australian flag, the report said.
She was one of several arrested in Iran on charges of espionage criticism that activists and UN investigators believe was a systematic attempt to compensate for her imprisonment or influence in negotiations with the West, which Iran denies.
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Moore-Gilbert wrote in letters to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that she had been imprisoned for “misbehaving” with the Australian government.
Morrison, this week, said he was “thrilled and relieved” that Moore-Gilbert was returning home after spending 40 days in detention. While they did not go into details, the prime minister told Australia-Australia’s Network Nine that nothing had been done to bias Austral’s safety, and that no prisoners had been released in his country.
Australian Foreign Minister Mary Payne called her release a “complete priority” for the government and wished her a happy return to Australia. The comments came after Maureen-Gilbert went on a hunger strike after being jailed and urging the Australian government to do more. To release him during his time in custody.
Moore-Gilbert, who was transferred to Karachi prison in July from a remote prison known for holding the country’s political prisoners, wrote that he was “mentally tortured and had to spend a long time in solitary confinement.”
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Penn said there is no doubt that once she recovers, it will lead to the same strength and determination that helped her go through her period of detention.
Stephen Soares of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
