The wife of a Dubai resident detained in Iraq for more than four years over a contract dispute has spoken of the “excruciating pain” her family is being put through.
Robert Pether, 50, was released from prison in Baghdad at the beginning of June. Despite that, he has remained in Iraq due to a ban on him leaving the country while the possibility of further legal action hangs over him.
Mr Pether, from Australia, along with his Egyptian co-worker Khaled Radwan, who both resided in Dubai at the time, were jailed in August 2021 and fined $12 million after a contract dispute between his employer and authorities in Iraq.
Iraqi officials say he continues to face legal proceedings.
“It looks like we will need an absolute miracle [to get him home] at this point, it's not looking good and there are threats of rearresting him,” Mr Pether's wife Desree told The National.
“Robert and Khaled are living with constant psychological warfare that their tiny bit of freedom is going to get snatched away from them again.
“It's been excruciating for the last 14 weeks. The kids thought they were nearly getting their dad back and then they weren't and now he might even get arrested again.”
Since being released Mr Pether has been living in hotels, with the cost of food and accommodation falling on him and his family.
Ms Pether said he has spent the last few days staying with friends, but she is worried about the long-term implications for her husband if the issue is not resolved.
“In the week before he was released he was blacking out from low blood sugar, he was only days away from having a heart attack or his organs shutting down,” she said. “He's still very sick. If he goes back to prison he will not survive.”
Mr Pether was released from prison at the beginning of June. Earlier in the year, the office of the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs had called for his release. This followed on from Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong calling for Mr Pether to be returned home to his family.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a report in 2022 describing Mr Pether’s imprisonment as “arbitrary and in contravention of international law”.
A ruling in 2023 by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration said that the central bank was to blame for the contractual dispute.
The Australian government has called for Mr Pether to be allowed to leave Iraq and be with his family for the first time since 2021.
“The Australian government continues to provide extensive consular assistance to Mr Pether and his family, and we continue to advocate for Mr Pether to be able to depart Iraq and be reunited with his family,” a representative of the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The National.
“The Australian government has persistently advocated on Mr Pether's behalf for many years, including making more than 200 representations to Iraqi authorities, as well as by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. These efforts were instrumental in securing Mr Pether's release from detention on June 5.
“The Australian government will continue to support Mr Pether and his family and to advocate for his interests and well-being. For privacy reasons we are unable to provide further comment.”
Contract dispute results in jail
Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were arrested when they travelled to Iraq for what they thought was a routine business meeting. Employed as an engineer in Dubai for CME, Mr Pether was contracted to work on the central bank's headquarters near the Tigris River.
The men were detained at the meeting. They each received a five-year jail sentence and were ordered to pay $12 million by an Iraqi court. The dispute was over a $33 million contract awarded to CME in 2015.
The project was put on hold a year later, with plummeting oil prices and Iraq’s war against ISIS put forward as the main reasons. Work resumed in 2018, with CME working for 39 of the 48 months as set out in the contract.
Payment was received for 32 of those months before being withheld. CME was asked by the central bank to extend the contract by three months to make up for work that was suspended due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
