Australian Engineer Robert Pether Returns Home to Family After Years of Detention and Travel Bans in Iraq

A former Dubai resident detained in Iraq for more than five years stated that being allowed to return to his family should not mask the injustice he was forced to endure. Australian engineer Robert Pether, 50, was reunited with his family in Ireland on Monday after being permitted to leave Iraq following a jail sentence stemming from a contract dispute involving his employer.

Mr Pether was released from prison last year but had been forced to remain in Iraq due to financial claims and a travel ban linked to the case. Mr Pether and his Egyptian co-worker Khaled Radwan, who both lived in Dubai at the time, had traveled to Iraq for a routine business meeting before being jailed in August 2021 and fined $12 million over a contract dispute between their employers and authorities in Baghdad. Mr Radwan has now also left the country.

'I was an engineer,' said Mr Pether during a press conference on Monday. 'I was an employee doing my job. I had a wife and children waiting for me at home. I was there because I made a choice to help a war-torn country rebuild. I never came home.'

The travel ban imposed by Baghdad prompted the office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to advocate for their release. This effort followed a call from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who urged authorities to allow Mr Pether to return home. Following his release from prison, Mr Pether stayed with friends or in hotels, covering his own food and accommodation expenses.

During his detention, Mr Pether's health deteriorated significantly, prompting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to issue a statement in June highlighting his alarming situation, which was worsened by a lack of specialist medical care and the psychological toll of prolonged detention.

'Coming home today should never be mistaken for that injustice somehow having been corrected,' Mr Pether stated. 'It wasn't. Not even close. Coming home is not exoneration and being allowed to leave is not justice. Our convictions have not been overturned. Neither of us has been exonerated. We were innocent when we were taken on April 7, 2021 and we remain innocent today.'

Mr Pether noted that upon his release from prison, he was hours from death and suffering from critical illness, only to find himself trapped without his passport, visa, or identity documents. He stated he was forced to sign a waiver before being permitted to leave Iraq, noting that after more than five years with declining health, he had no meaningful alternative.

He expressed profound gratitude for finally being home while emphasizing that freedom should never have required bargaining. He also commended his wife, Desree Pether, for her relentless campaigning and for holding their family together through years of uncertainty.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong released a statement on Monday morning confirming the development. 'The Australian government welcomes the Iraqi government's decision to allow Robert Pether to leave Iraq today,' she said, thanking Australian officials and Irish authorities for their cooperation.