British-Australian academic held in notorious Iran prison has 'become suicidal'

The husband of a prisoner in Iran’s notorious Evin jail has claimed that Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic who is also detained there, has attempted suicide several times.

In a post on Facebook, Reza Khandan wrote: “News received from Evin prison says that Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian citizen, who is staying in the security ward of Evin prison, has so far attempted to kill herself three times.”

“The long stay in the security detention centre and the conditions of solitary confinement have become so unbearable that she has had several suicide attempts.”

Mr Khandan is the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer who was sentenced to 38 years in Evin prison, as well as 148 lashes last year on various security charges, which she strongly denies.

The Telegraph was not immediately able to verify the claim due to the opaque nature of the Iranian prison system.

But relatives of other detainees in Evin prison said that Dr Moore-Gilbert’s long period in solitary confinement is likely to have severely affected her wellbeing. 

“I can’t confirm the accuracy of the news, but Kylie has been held in solitary confinement under IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) control for approaching two years,” said Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British-Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

He added: “I have no doubt that that would take anyone into a very dark place. Many other British prisoners have tried to attempt suicide while there - Nazanin first confessed to feeling suicidal after five months [due to] the feeling of being all alone.”

Dr Moore-Gilbert, who studied at Cambridge University, was handed a ten-year prison sentence in 2018 for allegedly violating national security.

The claim comes amid fears that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been temporarily released from Evin prison due to the coronavirus, may have to return on May 20.

This is because Aras Amiri, another British-Iranian dual citizen and former British Council employee, was sent back behind bars this week, having been placed on furlough on April 9.

Around half of Iran’s prisoners have been placed on temporary release since the severe outbreak of coronavirus, which has infected more than 100,000 people, but the regime is now slowly taking steps to return to normal.

The Telegraph has approached the Iranian authorities for comment.