In comments broadcast by Sky News Australia, a CNN affiliate, on Tuesday, Kylie Moore-Gilbert also criticized the Australian government’s attempts to use “quiet diplomacy” to free her.
Moore-Gilbert told Sky News that the first room in which she was detained was a “two by two meter box” with no bathroom.
“I would say (it was) the extreme solitary confinement room, designed to break you. It is psychological torture,” she said. “There were a few times in that early period that I felt broken, I felt that if I had to endure another day of it, you know, if I could, I would just kill myself.”
She said she was beaten once by prison guards and forcibly injected with a tranquilizer against her will.
Moore-Gilbert said the accusations that she was a spy were “crazy”. “There is no evidence that I am a spy for any country. Even the Revolutionary Guards failed to find out which country I was supposed to be spying for,” she said in the interview.
She said that while in detention, Iranian authorities also said they would release her if she agreed to spy on 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 countries in the Middle East and maybe European countries, maybe America, I don’t know, ” she said.
Criticisms of ‘silent diplomacy’
During his interview with Sky News, Moore-Gilbert said he learned during his incarceration that the media knew about his situation, but had initially been asked by the Australian government not to report the story.
“The line the government was driving was that trying to find a solution diplomatically behind the scenes with Iran was the best approach to get me out of there,” she said. “And the media would complicate things and could make Iran angry … and make things worse for me.”
Moore-Gilbert said he was grateful to the Australian government for its help in getting her out of prison. However, she was not convinced that so-called quiet diplomacy was the right approach, because her situation in prison improved after her name was released in the press in 2019.
“I realized that a lot more attention was paid to my health and conditions, so I certainly saw benefits from that. And I am not convinced that the arguments of silent diplomacy build up in this case, although each case is different,” she 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 his release that she did not know about.
“I am aware of these issues and have been directly involved in many of the decisions, in fact, all the decisions that ended up guaranteeing his release,” he said.
“And I know that Kylie Moore-Gilbert appreciates that very much.”
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said he would not speak about the “circumstances of his release”.
“Each consular case is complex in nature and is considered individually, with a strategy developed on a case-by-case basis,” said the spokesman.