Main content

Is Anybody Out There? Secrets for surviving solitary

Jailed in Iran, Kylie Moore-Gilbert used toilet paper, pink trousers, and pot plants to communicate with other prisoners, undetected by the guards.

Accused of spying and jailed in Iran for over two years, Kylie Moore-Gilbert used toilet paper, pink trousers, and pot plants to communicate with other prisoners, undetected by the guards. These ingenious methods of communication helped her endure long periods in solitary confinement.

For the first year, the public were not aware that Kylie had been held captive at all. It was only after letters she had written to the Iranian judiciary were leaked to the international press that her plight became known. Thanks in no small part to the help she received through secretive communications with other inmates, she came to realise that she was a hostage being used as a bargaining chip.

This is the first programme of our series Is Anybody Out There? Revealing the exceptional lengths people go to make connections with others.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Julian Siddle

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707. Send us a voicenote saying who you are and where and why you listen to Outlook.

Available now

41 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 5 Aug 2024 11:06GMT
  • Mon 5 Aug 2024 17:06GMT
  • Mon 5 Aug 2024 21:06GMT
  • Tue 6 Aug 2024 02:06GMT

Featured in...

Contact Outlook

Contact Outlook

Info on how we might use your contribution on air

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected