A British-Australian academic detained in Iran has been moved to a desert prison notorious for its poor conditions, a group of activists has said.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated academic who was most recently a lecturer in Islamic Studies at Melbourne University, had previously been held in Tehran's Evin prison, having reportedly been given a 10-year sentence.
She has previously published work on the 2011 Arab uprisings and on authoritarian governments.
The Centre for Supporters of Human Rights said Ms Moore-Gilbert has been moved to Qarchak prison, citing information from Reza Khandan whose wife human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is imprisoned in Evin.
In a Facebook post, Mr Khandan said Dr Moore-Gilbert was moved for "punishment".
Letters smuggled out of prison and published in January revealed the lecturer's fears for her mental health.
She said: "I'm taking psychiatric medications, but these 10 months that I have spent here have gravely damaged my mental health.
"I am still denied phone calls and visitations, and I am afraid that my mental and emotional state may further deteriorate if I remain in this extremely restrictive detention ward."
She also appeared to suggest she had been offered the chance to become a spy.
"I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country," she wrote.
