In comments aired by CNN-affiliated Sky News Australia on Tuesday, Kylie Moore-Gilbert also criticized the Australian government’s efforts to use ‘silent diplomacy’ to free her.
Moore-Gilbert told Sky News the first room in which she was detained was a “two-by-two-meter box” without a toilet.
“I would say (it was) the extreme closure room designed to break you. It’s psychological torture,” she said. ‘There were a few times in that early period that I felt broken. I felt I had to endure another day of this, you know, if I could, I would kill myself. ‘
She said she was once beaten by prison guards and forcibly injected with a sedative against her will.
Moore-Gilbert said the allegations that she was a spy were ‘crazy’. “There is no evidence that I am a spy for any country. Even the Revolutionary Guards could not figure out for which country I would supposedly be spying,” she said in the interview.
She said while the Iranian authorities detained her, they also said that they would free her if she agreed to spy on them.
‘I do not 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 do not know , “she said.
Criticism of ‘silent diplomacy’
Moore-Gilbert said during her interview with Sky News that she learned during her incarceration that the media knew about her situation, but that the Australian government was initially asked not to report the story.
“The line the government was running was that it was the best way to get me out to diplomatically find a behind-the-scenes solution with Iran,” she said. “And the media would complicate things and could make Iran angry … and make things worse for me.”
Moore-Gilbert said she was grateful to the Australian government for their help in getting her out of jail. However, she was not convinced that so-called silent diplomacy was the right approach, as her situation in prison improved after her press was announced by her press in 2019.
“I have noticed that much more attention has been paid to my health and my conditions, and I have certainly seen benefits from it. And I am not convinced that the silent diplomacy arguments accumulate in such a case, although each case is different. is, “she said. said.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was impressed by Moore-Gilbert’s bravery and courage, but there were events behind the scenes of her release of which she was unaware.
“I am aware of these issues and have been directly involved in many of the decisions, in fact all the decisions that ultimately secured her release,” he said.
“And I know Kylie Moore-Gilbert really appreciates it.”
In a statement to CNN, a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they would not talk about the “circumstances of her release”.
“Each consular case is inherently complex and is considered individually, with a strategy being developed on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesman said.