Australian engineer Robert Pether has left Iraq and is travelling to Ireland to reunite with his family, ending more than five years of detention and travel restrictions. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she spoke with him shortly before his departure from Baghdad and welcomed the Iraqi government’s decision to let him leave.
Pether was arrested in April 2021 with Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan after travelling to Baghdad to address a dispute involving CME Consulting and the construction of a new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters. He was later sentenced to five years in prison and fined $16 million over fraud allegations, which he and his family have consistently rejected.
Pether spent more than four years in prison before being released in June 2025 because of deteriorating health. He remained barred from leaving Iraq until an Iraqi court dismissed the proceedings and lifted the travel restriction, citing a lack of evidence. He then boarded a flight to Ireland through Turkey after negotiations involving Australian, Irish, Egyptian and Iraqi officials and his pro bono advisers.
A United Nations working group found that Pether’s detention was arbitrary and breached international law. It raised concerns about the fairness of his trial, including uncertainty over the charges and alleged mistranslation of evidence, and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Pether’s wife, Desree, said the family was hugely relieved after months of setbacks and last-minute obstacles. The Australian government said it had made more than 280 representations to Iraqi officials and denied that it had made a monetary payment connected with the case.
Pether’s advisers criticised the timing of Wong’s announcement because he was still in transit and had not yet reached his destination. They said protecting his safety during the journey should have taken priority, while Wong credited sustained government advocacy and cooperation with Irish authorities for securing his departure.