The Uncaged Sky: My 804 Days in an Iranian Prison is a 2022 memoir by Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian academic who was detained in Iran from 2018 to 2020. The book recounts her arrest, imprisonment, and eventual release, while also providing insight into the Iranian prison system. [1] It was published in 2022 by Ultimo Press [2] in Australia and the UK and in 2023 by Urano World in the US. [3]
In September 2018, Kylie Moore-Gilbert was arrested at Tehran Airport by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. She was subsequently tried on espionage charges in a rushed process and sentenced to ten years in prison. She was imprisoned in Evin Prison (including solitary confinement) and later in the notorious Gharchak (Qarchak) Women’s Prison. [4]
On November 25 2020, Moore-Gilbert was freed in a prisoner exchange with three Iranian nationals sentenced in Thailand for their involvement in the 2012 Bangkok bombings. [5] Since her release, Moore-Gilbert has advocated to secure the release of other Iranian political prisoners. [6]
The book follows Moore-Gilbert’s life immediately before her arrest, her ordeal in prison, and her return home. [7] In the epilogue, she reflects on her experience and broader issues: she likens Iran to “an open-air prison of 84 million people” and calls for advocacy for other unjustly imprisoned individuals. [7]
The book was launched at The Wheeler Centre [8] and was shortlisted for the 2022 Age Book of the Year [9] and for the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction. [10]