Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been moved out of a hell hole prison in Iran, amid hopes it may be a circuit breaker in her 10-year sentence.
The University of Melbourne Islamic studies expert was shifted from Qarchak prison, a former chicken slaughterhouse, to an unknown location on Saturday.
Dr Moore-Gilbert, originally from Bathurst NSW, was arrested at Tehran’s International Airport in 2018 after she had attended a university conference to which she was invited.
The 33 year old has denied all charges of spying, with her court case held in secret.
The weekend move, reported by Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency, may be the first step towards a release and potential house arrest, former Iranian prisoner Ana Diamond told News Corp Australia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said securing Dr Moore-Gilbert’s release was an “absolute priority”.
“We remain focused on her health, wellbeing and safety. We do not accept the charges upon which Dr Moore-Gilbert was convicted, and want to see her returned to Australia as soon as possible,” DFAT said in a statement.
“Our Ambassador in Tehran has regular consular access to Dr Moore-Gilbert.”
Ana Diamond, a British-Iranian who was jailed at Evin, said she hoped that it was a step in the right direction after another prisoner, Frenchwoman Fariba Adelkhah was released into the community earlier this month.
Read the article by Stephen Drill in The Daily Telegraph.