The head of Australia’s intelligence community, Nick Warner, led a secret, year-long effort to secure the release of academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert in a prisoner swap deal with Iran, where she was serving a 10-year sentence on trumped-up espionage charges.
The Australian can reveal Mr Warner used back-channel contacts to negotiate with the Iranian regime, while Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, Allan McKinnon, lobbied Thai officials to release three Iranian terrorists as an exchange for the Melbourne University lecturer.
Dr Moore-Gilbert walked free on Wednesday night, wearing a surgical mask and grey headscarf. She boarded a government jet for the flight home to Australia after 804 days in some of Iran’s toughest jails. In a statement, she thanked her supporters, while declaring her “love and admiration for the great nation of Iran and its warm-hearted, generous and brave people”.
The three terrorists, wearing leis and draped in Iranian flags, arrived back in their home country after being released by authorities in Thailand, where they were serving sentences for the attempted murder of Israeli diplomats.
Scott Morrison refused to confirm whether they were part of a swap for Dr Moore-Gilbert.
The Prime Minister said that commenting on the circumstances of Dr Moore-Gilbert’s release could endanger “other Australians who may for time to time find themselves in this situation”.
Read the article by Ben Packham and Richard Ferguson in The Australian.