Hi, my name is Colin Wight. I'm a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sydney. You can find me tweeting on politics, culture, sport, and music at @colwight. I want to take a few moments of your time to highlight the case of Kylie Moore-Gilbert. 1/ #KylieIsUs
Kylie is a young early career researcher (ECR) who has been held in Iran on trumped (no pun intended) up charges of espionage for 768 days now. I don't know Kylie personally, but as senior professor in the field of political science, I've followed her case closely. 2/
Although I've never met Kylie, I know lots of Kylies (and Kens). Enthusiastic young researchers keen to conduct their research and advance knowledge. As a discipline, we have to duty to protect these young researchers. Science also has a responsibility to protect them. 3/
The advance of science depends on academic freedom. Everyone researching in foreign countries could be the next Kylie. The academic community (not just in Australia) needs to be fighting to free Kylie. She is a victim of hostage diplomacy. 4/
We need international protocols protecting academic freedom. This is becoming a priority. @HeathershawJ has begun early work on this: universityworldnews.com/post.php?story…. But all academics need to get behind this and support each other. 5/
Let's do what we can to raise the profile of Kylie's plight. Write to your political representatives and lobby your professional associations. Or, just retweet this thread. Kylie's problem is potentially every academic's problem. 6/
We’re excited to introduce another important member of our campaign, @EleanorChilds94. Kylie Moore-Gilbert was Eleanor's mentor. Eleanor runs our Instagram account, and today is reflecting on the big impact Kylie had on her life and why she working so hard to bring Kylie home 1/7
“I first met Kylie at the beginning of 2018 during a coffee morning organised for Honours, Masters, and PhD students. It was an informal gathering to exchange ideas and solicit some much needed support for the daunting task of thesis writing.” 2/7
While Kylie was not my supervisor, she was always so interested in what I was writing, eager to share her thoughts and to help in any way she could. It was immediately apparent just how intelligent Kylie is and how well she handles complex topics with nuance and great insight 3/
Hi Twitter, my name is Jessie Moritz. I’m another of Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s colleagues and friends involved in running this campaign. I’m new-ish to Twitter, but you can find my alter-ego over here: @JessieMoritz 1/
When I first met Kylie, I was so excited to finally meet somebody else in Australia who worked on #Bahrain. We already had many mutual connections, including Bahrainis who for years had been telling me about the smart, kind, and humble Aussie researcher Kylie from #Melbourne 2/
I graduated in the same year as Kylie – we were both freshly minted PhDs, eager to put our stamp on the world. We connected over our curiosity and love of learning about foreign cultures 3/
Today, we’re sharing some precious memories of #KylieMooreGilbert from Jenny, one of Kylie’s former teachers in #Bathurst
Along with her story, here's an early pic of Kylie, every inch the typical Aussie teenager 🥰 1/
“My first memory of Kylie dates to when their family moved in next door. She was sitting on the nature strip absorbed in a book-aged about 10. It turned out the Moore-Gilberts had also just arrived in Bathurst and…” 2/
“…our daughters were going into the same class at the same school. It seemed to take about 5 minutes for the girls to become great friends”. 3/
We've been overjoyed to see your response to the #WeRunWithKylie campaign.
And it's not over yet - keep those photos coming! We'll be running all this week - join us!
1/
Your participation means a great deal, not only bc we're sending such a strong message of solidarity, but also because we're saving your photos to share with Kylie when she's home ❤️ 2/
This Sunday September 13 marks two years since Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert was wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. On that day, Kylie’s friends in her hometown of Bathurst will be running in support of their former schoolmate, neighbour and friend #WeRunWithKylie 1/
Because of Covid-19 restrictions, you can’t physically join them, but we invite Kylie’s supporters around the world to virtually join Kylie and her friends on a run, and to share photos of themselves running or walking with the hashtag #WeRunWithKylie. 2/
We’re running because a source inside Qarchak prison tells us that Kylie has been running during her short visits to the prison exercise area 3/
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Raihan Ismail. I usually tweet at @ismail_raih about religion and politics in the Middle East. I have known Kylie since early 2018 when I approached her to apply for a grant together. Working with her was a pleasure. 1/
A funny story: I was mortified when I realised that I submitted the grant application with an error. I called her Dr Kylie Gilbert-Moore instead of Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert. She was so kind to tell me that it was not a big deal. No ego, just kindness and modesty. 2/
Later she asked me to be on a panel for a conference, and I was so excited to be working with her again. She never made it to the conference. I learnt much later that she had already been arrested, and like many of her friends and colleagues was shocked and heartbroken. 3/