In comments from CNN-affiliated Sky News Australia on Tuesday, Kylie Moore-Gilbert also criticized the Australian government’s attempts to use “silent diplomacy” to set her free.
Moore-Gilbert told Sky News that the first room in which she was held was a “two-by-two-meter box” with no toilet.
“I would say (it was) the extreme solitary confinement room designed to break you down. It’s psychological torture,” she said. “There were a few times in that early period when I felt broken, I felt if I had to go through this one more day, you know, if I could I would kill myself.”
She said she was beaten up once by prison guards and forcibly injected with a sedative against her will.
Moore-Gilbert said the charges that she was a spy were “insane.” “There is no evidence that I am a spy for any country. Not even the Revolutionary Guards could figure out which country I was supposedly spying for,” she said in the interview.
She said while she was being held, Iranian authorities also told her they would release her if she agreed to spy for them.
“I don’t think they were particularly interested in spying on Australia, they were more interested in me using my academic status as a cover story and traveling to other Middle Eastern countries and maybe European countries, maybe America, I know not, ”she said.
Criticism of ‘silent diplomacy’
During her interview with Sky News, Moore-Gilbert said that during her incarceration she heard that the media was aware of her situation, but was initially asked by the Australian government not to report the story.
“The line taken by the government was that trying to find a diplomatic solution with Iran behind the scenes was the best approach to get me out,” she said. “And the media could complicate things and anger Iran … and make things worse for me.”
Moore-Gilbert said she was grateful to the Australian government for helping us release her from prison. However, she was not convinced that the so-called silent diplomacy was the right approach, as her situation in prison improved after her name was revealed by the press in 2019.
“I did notice that much more attention was being paid to my health and my condition, so I certainly saw benefits from that. And I am not convinced that the silent diplomacy arguments are piling up in such a case, although anyway is different, ”she says. said.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was impressed by Moore-Gilbert’s bravery and courage, but there were behind the scenes events of her release that she was unaware of.
“I am aware of those issues and have been directly involved in many of the decisions, in fact all of the decisions that ultimately led to the securing of her release,” he said.
“And I know Kylie Moore-Gilbert really appreciates that.”
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they would not speak about the “circumstances of her release.”
“Each consular case is complex by nature and is considered individually, with a strategy being developed on a case-by-case basis,” said the spokesman.