Robert Pether on his way home to Ireland Penny Wong X
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Pether and a colleague, Khalid Radwan from Egypt, were imprisoned in April 2021.
LAST UPDATE | 7 mins ago
ROBERT PETHER, AN Australian engineer who was jailed in Iraq for five years, is on his way back to Ireland to reunite with his family.
His wife, Desree Pether, posted a brief message on Instagram saying: “Fingers and toes crossed for the rest of his trip home. But it’s done. He’s FINALLY FREE.”
Pether and a colleague, Khalid Radwan from Egypt, were imprisoned in April 2021 on fraud charges stemming from a contract dispute between the consulting firm they worked for and the Central Bank of Iraq.
A UN report deemed their imprisonment arbitrary detention in 2022.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Desree, who is on her way to Dublin Airport with her children to meet her husband, said his arrival is only now “starting to feel more real”.
“It’s still quite surreal. It’s been such a hectic, really harrowing few months, and it’s been on again, off again. There’s been one obstacle after another, and a plot twist, and then another plot twist,” she said.
“We’ve always said until he’s on the plane, you know, a million things could happen. So now he’s in the air and out of the Middle East and airspace. It’s starting to feel more real.”
Desree said the events of the last five and a half years are “abominable”, adding that the experience has been very hard on her family.
“There’s just not even any words to describe it, and it should never have happened,” she said.
Desree said her husband will go straight to the hospital for urgent medical care after arriving in Ireland, and then she plans on cooking him lasagna.
She said the Irish government “went above and beyond” to help, and also thanked the Australian and Egyptian governments.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee welcomed the Iraqi government’s decision to allow Pether – who is a resident of Ireland – to leave the country. He had been released a year ago but was subject to a travel ban.
In a statement, McEntee said: “I am delighted that Robert Pether will return to Ireland this morning. This brings to an end an extraordinarily difficult period for Robert, his wife Desree and their children.”
“I am pleased that Robert will soon be reunited with his family and that he will be able to recuperate in peace in Roscommon. I know they will be very happy to be reunited for the first time since 2021.”
McEntee thanked the Australian government for their support and acknowledged the efforts of the Iraqi prime minister and foreign minister, and the work of the Irish government and diplomatic officials.
“I know the HSE, the National Ambulance Service and Galway University Hospital are ready to give Robert the care he needs at this time and I am very grateful for this,” McEntee added.
Australia’s minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, also welcomed the decision.
“I spoke to Robert shortly before his departure from Baghdad,” Wong wrote in a social media post.
“I’m pleased he is now free to move forward with his life and will soon be reunited with his family.”
She said today’s outcome came after “tireless work” from staff at her department, with the assistance of Irish officials.
With additional reporting from Sophie Finn