Bringing Kylie Home

Inside the secret mission to rescue a young aussie academic from Iran

- Sara Tapia

A young Australian academic is back on home soil after “a long and traumatic ordeal” that saw her spend 804 days in an Iranian prison. Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert was jailed in September 2018 and tried in secret, after being accused of espionage – charges which she has strenuously denied since her arrest. She was sentenced to 10 years in Iran’s Evin Prison but was released on November 26, thanks to Australian officials who worked tirelessly to secure her freedom.

“She is still processing, but I’ve got to say the sound of her voice and the tone of her voice was very uplifting, particularly given what she has been through. She is obviously still taking it all in, as you would expect,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the Today show, after speaking with MooreGilbert following her release. “I said before I believe in miracles … I tell you what, I just got another one.”

The Melbourne University lecturer had been attending a conference in Iran in 2018 when she was detained at Tehran Airport – reportedly after authorities found out her husband is an Israeli citizen (the two countries are currently in conflict). She was one of several Westerners held in Iran on unfounded espionage charges.