Australian academic locked up in Iran begs Scott Morrison to fight for her freedom as she goes on hunger strike after 15 months behind bars
- Academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has written to Scott Morrison in fight for freedom
- Faces a second Christmas in solitary confinement in notorious Iran prison
- Recently lost her appeal against 10 year sentence on spying charges
- Begged the Prime Minister to remember her and her family in his prayers
A British-Australian academic behind bars in one of Iran’s most notorious prisons has begged Scott Morrison for help in another desperate bid for freedom.
Political prisoner Kylie Moore-Gilbert has penned a heart-wrenching letter to the Prime Minister, which was smuggled out of Evin prison in Tehran, where she has been detained in solitary confinement for the past 15 months.
It comes after a recent crushing blow, when the University of Melbourne lecturer and Middle East expert lost an appeal against her 10-year jail sentence for spying charges.
Dr Gilbert-Moore has written two letters describing her distress of being detained in shocking cell conditions since October last year, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert has written to the Prime Minister as her fight for freedom continues
She will also begin a hunger strike on Tuesday as she faces a second Christmas locked in solitary confinement following her rejected appeal.
‘Please I beg of you to do whatever it takes to get me out,’ reads one letter to the Prime Minister, a devout Hillsong Church member.
‘I know that you’re a religious man and I ask that until that much-longed for freedom arrives, you remember me and my family in your prayers.’
A source told News Corp Dr Moore-Gilbert was ‘desperate’ following her recent lost appeal.
She smuggled a message out of Evin prison, telling the source: ‘Make sure this does not go unnoticed.’
Dr Moore-Gilbert (pictured) is in solitary confinement in one of Iran’s notorious prisons
Dr Moore-Gilbert had been in Iran as a guest speaker at a university conference when she was arrested at the airport after checking in for her flight home to Australia.
She is believed to have been researching Iran’s relationship with the Shia community of Bahrain after a sectarian uprising in 2011.
Prisoners held in solitary confinement are detained in Cells are just 1.5m by 2.5m have no bed and no windows with sleep made difficult by lights left on 24 hours a day, and three blankets to use as a mattress, pillow, and warmth.
They are also denied contact with their families.
A three minute call to her dad is the only contact Dr Moore-Gilbert has had in the last nine months.
Dr Moore-Gilbert grew up in the Bathurst in central west NSW, where she was dux at All Saints College before heading to the UK to study at Cambridge University, where she completed her honours.
She begged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to do ‘whatever it takes’ to get her released
Dr Moore-Gilbert (pictured) recently lost an appeal against her 10 year sentence
While there in 2011, as a member of the Cambridge Union, she met Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was there as a guest speaker.
She has been a University of Melbourne employee since 2006, most recently as a lecturer in Islamic Studies.
When contacted by News Corp about her rejected appeal, the university released the same statement they made when news of Dr Moore-Gilbert’s arrest came to light.
‘The University of Melbourne has been and will continue to be in close contact with the Australian Government and Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s family,’ the statement read.
‘We believe that the best chance of securing Kylie’s safe return is through diplomatic channels.
‘This is a sensitive matter and the University will not be providing further comment.’
The university lecturer has been detained in Evin prison (pictured in 2006) since last October