Wife of Australian engineer released from Iraq relieved 'nightmare' is over

Australian Robert Pether has left Iraq five years after his arrest, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed.

Mr Pether, an engineer, has always maintained his innocence since he was arrested on fraud charges in April 2021 along with his Egyptian colleague, and sentenced to a five-year jail term and a $16 million fine.

Mr Pether and his family insisted he was the victim of trumped-up charges fuelled by a bitter dispute over the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters in Baghdad.

The 51-year-old was released from prison in June 2025 after more than four years behind bars, but was subject to travel restrictions preventing him from leaving Iraq.

Senator Wong said Mr Pether had left Baghdad and was now free to reunite with his family in Ireland.

She said she had spoken with him on Monday morning, shortly before his departure.

"I expressed to him our relief that he had been released and my hope that he recovers, but most importantly I wished him well for his reunion with the family and recovery in the future," she said. 

"I know this has taken a real toll on him and his family."

Mr Pether's wife Desree said she was "hugely relieved".

"It's been an absolute nightmare, especially these last few months," she told the ABC. 

"So many obstacles and plot twists right up to the last minute. He is actually still in transit. We weren't going to say anything until he was safe at the end of his journey".

Last year, Ms Pether had expressed concern about Mr Pether's deteriorating physical and mental health.

In 2024, Mr Pether penned an emotional letter from behind bars, writing he felt "abandoned" by the Australian government and worried he would never get home.

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

"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."