Robert Pether 'unrecognisable' after four-years in Iraqi prison, says wife

Robert Pether has been in prison in Iraq since April 7, 2021

The wife of an Irish-based engineer who has been released after serving four years in an Iraqi prison says she was shocked by how much his health has deteriorated, after speaking with him on a video call.

Desree Pether’s husband Robert has been in prison in Iraq since April 7, 2021, after being arrested on fraud charges following a contractual dispute involving his employer over the building of a new Central Bank building in Iraq.

Mr Pether, an Australian native, had been living in Elphin, Co Roscommon, with his wife and children before his arrest.

He and an Egyptian colleague were detained after being summoned to a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the ongoing project.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Desree said she had urged him not to return to Baghdad while the dispute was unresolved.

She said however that he had been worried about his colleagues there and “didn’t not want to go back and resolve it”.

She spoke with him on a video call on Thursday after his release on bail. However, he remains under a travel ban and cannot yet return home.

She said that he was “completely unrecognisable” and said: “It is a shock to the system to see how far he has declined. He is not well at all and he really needs to just come home so that he can get the proper medical care that he needs.” 

She said he has fainted “a few times in the last couple of months due to the fact that he is not eating properly because he can’t keep anything down so if he fainted, he had a bunch of people in the cell looking after him and giving him tea with honey to try to help him so it was the best of a bad situation.” 

Reflecting on her campaign for his release, she said: “It has been beyond frustrating, it has been a living nightmare every day, 18 hours a day, seven days a week and it’s not over.” 

She explained: “It is one small step in the right direction finally after over four years. It was four years in April. It is exhausting and I would like to just lie down and just sleep for a year but it’s not over and we still need to get that travel ban lifted.” 

She said she remains unsure what steps are needed to remove the ban.

“We still have another major battle ahead to get him home and until he is actually on a plane out of airspace and on his way, I don’t think we will actually breathe properly and let go of all the angst.” 

His release was confirmed on Thursday evening by Tánaiste and foreign affairs minister, Simon Harris.

Mr Harris said it is very welcome news in a long and distressing saga for his family and loved ones.

"Foreign Minister Hussein of Iraq, whom I spoke to last month to urge Robert’s release, called me this evening with the news," the foreign affairs minister said in a statement.

"I was informed that Robert has been released on bail and for the moment he remains in Iraq, but I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon."