The family of an engineer who has been detained without explanation in Iraq has made an emotional plea for his release.
Robert Pether, 46, has been held in custody for 60 days.
The Australian was arrested during what he thought was a routine business meeting with his employer's client, the Central Bank of Iraq.
His wife and son urged authorities in Baghdad to release Mr Pether after he was denied bail three times despite not being charged with any offence.
I have gone countless nights sitting in my room feeling empty, wondering if I'll ever see him again
Mr Pether and an Egyptian colleague, Khalid Zaghlol, were both arrested without explanation upon arrival at the meeting on April 7, following a contractual dispute with Iraq's Central Bank.
Their employer, Dubai-based company CME Consulting, was awarded a deal in 2015 by the bank to offer engineering consulting services for building a new headquarters in Baghdad.
The trauma of Mr Pether's detention has led to his son, 15, releasing a video on social media pleading for help.
“I have gone countless nights sitting in my room feeling empty, wondering if I’ll ever see him again,” Oscar Pether said in the video.
“The situation has made my depression worse to the point I was forced into therapy.
“I’m begging for his immediate unconditional release. Please bring my father home to us.”
Oscar, 15, said his father's arrest was a breach of his human rights.
Mr Pether’s wife Desree said there had been no update from authorities in Iraq as to when her husband would finally be released.
“His bail has been denied three times at this stage without any reason being given as to why,” said Ms Pether.
She was only able to speak to her husband over the phone once, since his arrest.
“It was a short five-minute conversation and there has been nothing else since,” she said.
Ms Pether has been kept aware of her husband’s status through communications with the Egyptian and Australian embassies.
She said CME Consulting has provided him with a lawyer but there was still no indication he would be released anytime soon.
“We are just literally clutching at straws at this stage,” she said.
Ms Pether added her husband is currently being kept in a room with other prisoners, which has led to concerns about her husband's health.
“He’s in a room with 22 others but there are only 22 beds,” she said.
“Someone has to sleep on the floor. There is simply no justification for him to be treated like this.”
Ms Pether said she was also seeking help from the Irish government as she is an Irish citizen, and is currently residing there with her children.
The National contacted the Australian and Irish governments for comment, as well as Mr Pether's lawyer in Iraq.
Contractual dispute
The dispute involves a $33 million contract awarded to CME Consulting in 2015.
The company teamed up with another for the project, as requested by the central bank.
Work was suspended a year later owing to a lack of funds caused by plummeting oil prices in the international market and Iraq’s war with ISIS.
Iraq resumed work on the project in 2018, by which stage the partner withdrew from the contract but CME Consulting continued the work without notifying the central bank.
The company worked for 39 of the 48 months stipulated in its contract. It was paid for 32 months, before payment was withheld in September.
The dispute started this year when the bank asked CME to extend the contract for three months to make up for work suspended during the coronavirus lockdown last year.
The bank said it would not pay for the extension. CME refused, saying the suspension was not its decision and that its employees were in Baghdad.
The bank is now accusing CME of a scam for not informing it of the withdrawal of the partner, something that is not required by the contract or mentioned as a contractual breach.
It is also asking for $12 million, described as "extra payments" to be returned.
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
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The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
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Based: Amman, Jordan
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Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
