Robert Pether: Australian held in Iraq for five years over contract dispute is finally released

Australian engineer Robert Pether has departed Iraq five years after his arrest for allegedly embezzling funds.Mr Pether, 51, was arrested in Baghdad in April 2021 along with his colleague amid a contractual dispute between their employer CME Consulting and the Central Bank of Iraq.In 2022, a UN working group concluded that the detention of the pair violated international law and due process. Mr Pether has denied any wrongdoing.Mr Pether was released from prison in June 2025 due to his deteriorating health, but was barred from leaving Iraq. An Iraqi court last week dismissed the proceedings against him and lifted the travel ban, citing lack of evidence.Australian foreign minister Penny Wong on Monday confirmed that Mr Pether was on his way to being reunited with his family in Ireland."I spoke to Mr Pether shortly before his departure from Baghdad and am pleased he is now free to move forward with his life," Ms Wong said. She added that his release was secure after "many years of persistent advocacy"."I know this has taken a real toll on him and his family," Ms Wong added.Mr Pether's wife, Desree, said she was "hugely relieved". "It's been an absolute nightmare, especially these last few months. So many obstacles and plot twists right up to the last minute," she said in a statement."He is actually still in transit. We weren't going to say anything until he was safe at the end of his journey," she said on Monday morning.Ireland's foreign minister Helen McEntee said she was delighted that Mr Pether was returning to Ireland.Australian construction engineer Robert Pether speaks to media at Dublin Airport on his return (PA)“This brings to an end an extraordinarily difficult period for Robert, his wife Desree and their children. I know they will be very happy to be reunited for the first time since 2021," she said.Mr Pether began overseeing the multi-million-dollar reconstruction of the Central Bank of Iraq's Baghdad headquarters in 2015 after having worked in the Middle East for almost a decade.He was arrested alongside a colleague after they were accused of embezzling money from the rebuild project.Following their arrest, both men were held for nearly six months without charge, subjected to what the UN described as “abusive and coercive” interrogations, and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison and a joint fine of $12m (£8.8m).Mr Pether said he was forced to sign a pre-written confession in Arabic.The following year, the International Chamber of Commerce’s Court of Arbitration ruled that the Central Bank of Iraq, not CME Consulting, was at fault in the contractual disagreement and ordered it to pay $13m (£9.5m) in compensation to the firm.In a letter written from prison, Mr Pether described the pain of missing “so many milestones” with his wife and five children during his detention.