Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Iran Says British-Australian Academic Freed for 3 Iranians
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
November 25, 2020

Share

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has freed Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran for more than two years, in exchange for three Iranians held abroad, state TV reported Wednesday.

The state TV report offered no further details Wednesday beyond saying that the three Iranians released in the swap had been detained for trying to bypass sanctions.

Moore-Gilbert was a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies when she was sent to Tehran’s Evin Prison in September 2018 and sentenced to 10 years. She is one of several Westerners held in Iran on internationally criticized espionage charges that their families and rights groups say are unfounded.

It was not immediately clear when Moore-Gilbert would arrive back in Australia. State TV aired video showing her with a gray hijab sitting at what appeared to be a greeting room at one of Tehran’s airports. She wore a blue face mask under her chin. The footage showed three men with Iranian flags over their shoulders — those freed in exchange for her being released. State TV earlier described them as “economic activists,” without elaborating.

International pressure on Iran to secure her release has escalated in recent months following reports that her health was deteriorating during long stretches of solitary confinement and that she had been transferred to the notorious Qarchak Prison, east of Tehran.

Moore-Gilbert has gone on hunger strikes and pleaded for the Australian government to do more to free her. Those pleas included writing to the prime minister that she had been subjected to “grievous violations” of her rights, including psychological torture and solitary confinement.

Her detention has further strained relations between Iran and the West, which reached a fever pitch earlier this year following the American killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad and retaliatory Iranian strikes on a U.S. military base.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

DON'T MISS

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

DON'T MISS

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

DON'T MISS

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

DON'T MISS

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

DON'T MISS

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

DON'T MISS

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

DON'T MISS

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

DON'T MISS

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

DON'T MISS

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

UP NEXT

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 in Gaza as Outcry Over Aid Blockade Grows

UP NEXT

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

UP NEXT

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

UP NEXT

Summer Movie Guide 2025: Here’s What’s Coming to Theaters and Streaming From May to August

UP NEXT

First At-Home Test Kit for Cervical Cancer Approved by the FDA, Company Says

UP NEXT

Leo XIV’s Service to Poor Propelled Him to Papacy, Cardinals Say

UP NEXT

Iran to Send Russia Launchers for Short-Range Missiles, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Residents Stockpile Food, Rush to Bunkers as Conflict Rattles India and Pakistan

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

1 day ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

2 days ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

2 days ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

2 days ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

2 days ago

Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit

2 days ago

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

2 days ago

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 in Gaza as Outcry Over Aid Blockade Grows

2 days ago

Experts Call Kennedy’s Plan to find Autism’s Cause Unrealistic

2 days ago

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

2 days ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

A recent study from TripIt and Edelman Data & Intelligence discovered 69% of millennials and Gen Z use social media to find inspiration ...

17 hours ago

17 hours ago

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

17 hours ago

‘The Studio’ Knows the Real Reason Movies Are Bad

1 day ago

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

1 day ago

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

2 days ago

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

The Clovis Police Department identified two suspects they have arrested in connection with the murder of Caleb Quick, 18, at a Saturday, May 10, 2025, news conference. (GV Wire Composite)
2 days ago

Two Teens Charged in Shooting Death of Caleb Quick

2 days ago

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

2 days ago

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend