British-Australian academic freed by Iran in apparent prisoner exchange
Source: CNN
(CNN) — Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic detained by Iran for more than two years on espionage charges, has been freed in an apparent prisoner exchange for three Iranians.
Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer on Middle Eastern studies at the University of Melbourne, had been detained in Iran since 2018. The 33-year-old was found guilty of espionage last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In a statement, Moore-Gilbert thanked the Australian government and others who had campaigned for her freedom, describing the past two years and three months as "a long and traumatic ordeal."
She said her departure from Iran was "bittersweet," despite the injustice she had been subjected to.
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By Nectar Gan, Angus Watson and Ramin Mostaghim, CNN
Updated 10:09 PM ET, Wed November 25, 2020
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/25/asia/kylie-moore-gilbert-release-intl-hnk/index.html
Source: Associated Press
Thailand approves transfer of 3 Iranians as Australian freed
By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and NICK PERRY
today
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai officials said Thursday they approved the transfer back to Tehran of three Iranians who were involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot, as Iran released a 33-year-old Australian academic who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges.
Thai officials did not go so far as to call it a prisoner swap or say what involvement Australia might have had in the arrangement. Iranian state TV said Tehran released British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert in exchange for three Iranians held abroad.
Chatchom Akapin, Thailand’s deputy attorney general, told The Associated Press that Thai authorities had approved the transfer of the prisoners under an agreement with Iran.
“These types of transfers aren’t unusual,” he said. “We transfer prisoners to other countries and at the same time receive Thais back under this type of agreement all the time.”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/tehran-thailand-australia-iran-041704ca6749f853281a967fd3493020
In this frame grab from Iranian state television video aired Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, is seen in Tehran, Iran. Iran has freed Moore-Gilbert, who has been detained in Iran for more than two years, in exchange for three Iranians held abroad, state TV reported Wednesday. (Iranian State Television via AP)
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