Australian engineer Robert Pether finally leaves Iraq after years of detention
Iraq has allowed Australian engineer Robert Pether, arrested in Baghdad in 2021 and later jailed, to leave the country. Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed he is in transit.
Australian engineer Robert Pether has been permitted to leave Iraq on Monday, 12 October, after more than four years in a Baghdad prison and a subsequent ban on leaving the country. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed the decision and said he is currently in transit.
Pether was arrested in April 2021 without charge. The detention was linked to a dispute between the Iraqi government and his engineering firm, CME Consulting, which was building a new headquarters for Iraq's central bank. His colleague Khalid Radwan was detained with him; both had flown to Baghdad for a meeting with bank officials to resolve the dispute. Pether was later sentenced and fined over allegations that the firm spent money that should have gone to an architect and a subcontractor.
His health deteriorated sharply during the imprisonment, and he was released last year because of his condition, though he was barred from leaving Iraq.
Wong: result of years of effort
"The Australian government welcomes the Iraqi government's decision to allow Mr Robert Pether to leave Iraq today," Wong said. She said she spoke to Pether shortly before he left Baghdad, and stressed that the outcome followed years of persistent advocacy and consular assistance. The government said it had raised the case with Iraqi authorities more than 200 times.
UN findings
In March 2022, the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention concluded that Pether had been detained arbitrarily, in breach of international law. It also found the arrest amounted to an "enforced disappearance" and may have involved forms of torture. According to the report, he was held in a small cell with the lights permanently on and was exposed to cold, death threats and humiliation. The group also questioned the fairness of the trial, citing allegations that his evidence was mistranslated and that charges were dropped and replaced during the hearing.
Pether's wife, Desree, who lives in Ireland, said last year she was grateful to everyone who helped bring about his release.
