Australian engineer freed from Iraqi jail after four years

An Australian engineer has been freed after spending four years in an Iraqi prison, officials have confirmed.

Robert Pether was designing Iraq’s central bank in Baghdad when a contract dispute broke out between his employer the country’s government.

The quarrel resulted in Mr Pether and an Egyptian colleague being sentenced to five years behind bars and fined millions on fraud charges — charges both men deny.

Mr Pether has been released on bail, meaning his chances of leaving Iraq with pending proceedings are low.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday welcomed his release, calling it a “positive development”.

“I know the personal toll Mr Pether’s detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress,” Senator Wong said in a statement.

“While Mr Pether remains subject to legal proceedings in Iraq, this is a positive development and follows persistent Australian Government advocacy over many years.”

She said his case was “raised with Iraqi authorities over 200 times, including at the highest level by the Prime Minister and myself”.

“I want to thank Australian officials for their tireless work on Mr Pether’s case, including Australia’s special envoy who travelled to Iraq in recent weeks to negotiate for this outcome,” Senator Wong said.

“We will continue to support Mr Pether and his family and to advocate for Mr Pether’s interests and wellbeing.”

Mr Pether has a wife and three children waiting for him in Ireland, where he was living before the ordeal.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris was the first to announce his release.

Mr Harris said he received a phone call from his Iraqi counterpart and had personally relayed the news to Mr Pether’s wife, Desree.

“This evening, I have been informed of the release on bail of Robert Pether, whose imprisonment in Iraq has been a case of great concern,” he said.

“Foreign Minister Hussein of Iraq, whom I spoke to last month to urge Robert’s release, called me this evening with the news.

“I was informed that Robert has been released on bail and for the moment he remains in Iraq, but I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon.

“I also spoke this evening with Robert’s wife, Desree Pether, about this positive development.”

He thanked Irish diplomats working on Mr Pether’s case and said the Irish government remained “concerned about Robert’s health and outstanding charges, but I am hopeful now of a positive resolution in this case”.

Mrs Pether has been relentlessly campaigning for her husbands release for years amid severe concerns over his health.

She warned earlier this year warned Mr Pether could have developed lung cancer after an Iraqi judge refused to release medical test results.

She has also criticised the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for its handling of the case.

In a letter last year, Mr Pether wrote he felt “abandoned” by the Albanese government.

“I have pleaded for three years for Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong to do everything they can to help me and get me home,” he said.

“So far, I just feel abandoned. I am sick, and worried I will not survive this ordeal much longer.

“I want to go back to Australia and hear the birds, swim at the beach, sit and watch the harbour while the ferries come and go and feel the sun on my skin.”

He also said he was “forced to sign a pre-written, incriminating confession in Arabic, a language I don’t read or understand, after being locked in a cupboard, dehydrated and starved. There was no opportunity to defend myself”.

In 2022, a UN body found Mr Pether and his colleague were “arbitrarily detained, without any legal basis”.

UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said there were “indications that he was exposed to extreme cold, threats of death, humiliation and various forms of psychological abuse”.