ESPIONAGE – IRAN

Thais that bind: secret mission ends Aussie’s torment

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Original article by Ben Packham, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 27-Nov-20

It has been revealed that Australia’s director-general of national intelligence Nick Warner led a secret, year-long effort to secure the release of Melbourne University lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert after she had spent over 800 days in Iranian jails. Moore-Gilbert was released in a prisoner swap deal that involved Thailand releasing three Iranian terrorists; Moore-Gilbert had been serving a 10-year sentence on trumped-up espionage charges. Warner had been Australia’s ambassador in Iran during the mid-1990s and used his connections in Iran to help secure her release. Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, Allan McKinnon, lobbied that nation’s authorities to release the three Iranian terrorists.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Iran confirms detention of three Australian citizens, accuses one of spying

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Original article by Adam Harvey
abc.net au – Page: Online : 18-Sep-19

Iran has confirmed it is holding three Australians in detention. The semi-official Fars news agency has quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying that one of the three is facing charges of spying for a nation other than her native country, while the other two were arrested for taking pictures in military areas. Those two are most likely travel bloggers Mark Firkin and Jolie King, while the third person is likely Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who is a lecturer in Islamic studies at Melbourne University. It is understood Moore-Gilbert was arrested while attending a course in the Iranian city of Qorn in the second half of 2018. There had been reports she had been convicted and given a 10-year jail sentence, but it is understood that Iranian courts are yet to rule on her possible guilt.

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