'I Was Innocent': Ex-Dubai Resident Details Five Years of Detention in Iraq

A former Dubai resident, who endured five years of detention in Iraq over a contract dispute, is now adjusting to freedom and determined to seek vindication for the "dark times" he experienced. Australian engineer Robert Pether was released from prison in Baghdad in June of the previous year but was prevented from leaving Iraq due to financial claims stemming from a case involving a contract dispute between his employer and Iraqi authorities.

"The concept of freedom is still kicking in for me because it's been a long time and I'm still adjusting," Mr. Pether, 50, stated in his first interview since returning to Dublin on Monday. His immediate priority is spending time with his family, who now reside in Ireland. He is also scheduled for surgery to treat high-risk skin cancer that worsened during his imprisonment. "I'm having surgery in the next few days," he confirmed, adding, "But it will be fixed, there's no doubt about that. We caught it in time."

Over the coming months, Mr. Pether plans to consult with lawyers to address the "huge injustice" he suffered. He and his Egyptian colleague, Khaled Radwan, both former Dubai residents, traveled to Baghdad in April 2021 and were detained four months later. They were fined $12 million concerning a contract dispute between their employer, CME Consulting, and the Central Bank of Iraq.

"I'm looking for accountability," he told The National. "I was innocent when I was arrested. We did nothing wrong. What was done to us was not reasonable, was not justice. So there does need to be accountability. I'm not at a stage where I'm going to identify who we're looking at for that accountability. I will let lawyers keep working on that." Mr. Pether refrained from disclosing details of the legal action he intends to pursue, acknowledging the challenging path ahead. "It will all be made known when the time is right. What we went through, no one, no innocent person should have to be subjected to … that is not something that you can just snap your fingers and say it's finished. There needs to be some balance and that's where we're seeking accountability among the people who caused this, the people who are truly responsible for it … so that we feel more vindicated."

Mr. Pether also offered words of encouragement to others who have been wrongly incarcerated and their families. "Do not give up. That's really all I could tell them. Do not give in. You have to keep fighting," he advised. "There is an end. There is a way through … arbitrary detention is completely unjust but unfortunately it still happens. It will continue to happen. You just have to be strong enough to get through it." In 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that Mr. Pether's detention violated international law, suggesting he was being used as leverage in a commercial dispute.

Mr. Pether expressed that his pursuit of justice aims to deter similar actions against innocent individuals. "The fact that we did suffer a huge injustice … it's going to be a long path but it's one that needs to be crossed," he stated. "This is not just for me, this is for other people … because it will happen again. I will not be the last … if we do bring in some measures of accountability and a way to achieve accountability, it will help the next person. And perhaps give people thought, to not put people into arbitrary detention." His immediate focus is his family, followed by consultations with lawyers. "In terms of actually making something happen, it will take months or years," Mr. Pether said. "I'm prepared for that, as is my wife. We've already discussed it, this is part of the healing process for us."

Conversations with his wife, Desree, and children, Flynn, Oscar, and Nala, provided him with courage. He also found guidance in speaking with Terry Waite, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoy who was kidnapped in Beirut in 1987 and held captive for five years, four of which were in solitary confinement. This helped him make critical decisions to draw on his inner resilience to survive his ordeal. "Terry and I started talking soon after my incarceration," Mr. Pether recalled. "The very first discussion we had, he said that I needed to make some hard decisions, and I had to decide how I was going to survive. There was never any question of if, it was always how." Building mental fortitude, distancing himself from other prisoners, and maintaining tight emotional control were crucial to his survival. "I personally decided I'd be better off isolating myself, relying on myself and my own internal strength," Mr. Pether shared.

His wife and the embassy sent books, which he immersed himself in, providing an escape from the prison walls. After his release last year, Mr. Pether resided in a secure compound, where reading continued to offer clarity. "Reading books was a form of escapism that helped me build up my strength," he explained. "Basically that was how I got through the years in prison and the last 12 months when I was hidden away somewhere quietly and I had a few people I would speak to daily and catch up with … I’m a fairly voracious reader, so anything I could get my hands on, I was reading. It was a way to fill in time and also a way to keep my brain moving, so that I could think about things more clearly."

The Pether family recounted being deprived of sharing significant life events like graduations and birthdays. "There were a lot of dark times but we got through them," he said. "My wife used to prop me up when I was really down. There were times it was a roller coaster … each time it went down, it went further down and that was hard because then you had to drag yourself back up from there." Initially, he believed the case would be resolved swiftly, but as months and years passed, he experienced moments of lost hope. "I'll be honest, there were times when I did question that – 'will I actually go home?'" Mr. Pether admitted. "It was a matter of trying to avoid the really dark patches, keeping the mental strength to know I would go home. It was just a question of when." Conversations with his wife and children motivated him to persevere. "My family was always on my mind, my wife especially, and there was never any question of not getting back," he stated. "What she was doing was not just fighting for my freedom. She was also propping up myself, our children, holding our family together. And it was her strength, sharing her strength with me, that helped."