Iran says jailed UK-Australian academic is 'healthy'

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert was detained for "violating Iran's national security". AFP

A British-Australian academic jailed in Iran is "healthy" and in regular contact with her family, the Islamic republic's High Council for Human Rights said Wednesday.

The arrest of Kylie Moore-Gilbert was confirmed by Iran in September 2019, but her family said at the time she had been detained for months before that.

The University of Melbourne Islamic studies lecturer is serving a 10-year prison sentence for a spying conviction that she denies.

Moore-Gilbert "has access to medical and other services like other prisoners", the Council said in a statement posted on its website.

"She has books to read, and whenever requested, her needed books will be procured and delivered to her," said the Council, which is part of Iran's judiciary.

"She is currently healthy, undergoing her sentence and is in constant contact with her family via telephone," it added.

Human rights activists said this month that the academic had attempted suicide multiple times and was upset with the Australian government's response to her detention.

But in a statement on Sunday, her family said she in good health "considering her situation" in an Iranian prison.

The statement also denied the claims she had attempted suicide or been tortured.

Moore-Gilbert is being held in Tehran's Evin prison, where British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held until being granted temporary leave due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Iran says it has released more than 100,000 inmates, including 1,000 foreigners, to ease the pressure on the prison system during the pandemic.