Former Iran prisoner ‘shocked’ by secrecy of Australian’s detainment

A US journalist who spent more than a year in the same Iran prison in which an Australian academic has been detained has slammed the secrecy around Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s plight.

And he’s questioned whether the WA couple detained in Tehran have also paid the price.

Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter and author of Prisoner about his time in Evin prison, was released after 544 days of imprisonment following months of discussions between the US and Iranian governments.

“I’m not sure any of that any of that would’ve happened if there wasn’t a major public outcry over my plight,” he told Ross and John this morning.

As such, he slammed the secrecy around Dr Moore-Gilbert’s imprisonment for nearly one year.

The Melbourne University academic was working as a lecturer and researcher for the university’s Asia Institute specialising in Middle East politics before she was imprisoned in the Islamic Republic in October 2018.

He identity was kept secret for that time in the hope it would help her chances of release.

“I think that it’s shocking that that news has been obscured from the public all this time,” he said.

“I wonder if the public in Australia had known about that, if the two travel bloggers (Mark Firkin and Jolie King from WA) would’ve visited Iran.

“Surely they might’ve had a second-thought about it.”

Click PLAY to hear the full interview