Caught up in fight about money he had no part in, Australian engineer Robert Pether was imprisoned, tortured and kept under virtual house arrest in Iraq. He is finally free.
Robert Pether rejoined his family in Dublin last night, having been flown out of Baghdad following protracted negotiations between Ireland, Australia, Egypt and Iraq.
Pether and his co-accused colleague, Egyptian Khalid Zaghoul Radwan, were arrested in April 2021. A UN inquiry later found their detention was arbitrary and documented serious violations of international human rights law in how they were treated. In addition, the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration ruled against the Central Bank of Iraq in the dispute with Robert and Khalid’s employer that had been the pretext for their arrest.
Robert Pether. Australian falsely accused, stuck in Baghdad, DFAT dithering
To secure his release, Pether had to sign a waiver to exonerate the Iraqi Government, despite the court documents identifying a complete lack of evidence against him and Khalid.
In his statement last night, Pether said, “Our convictions have not been overturned. Neither of us has been exonerated.
We were innocent when we were taken on 7th April 2021, and we remain innocent today.
His wife and children are Irish, and his wife, Desree, earlier told MWM how much support her family has had from the Irish government throughout their ordeal, despite Robert himself not being an Irish citizen.
On arrival, Robert said, “There are some people we can’t even begin to thank. Without them, I genuinely don’t know where myself and my family would be today. They have literally saved us over and over.”
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Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim first came to Australia in 1989. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.