Robert Pether's wife hopes his release from Iraqi prison will end ‘living nightmare'
An Irish resident who has been in jail in
Iraq
for the last four years is 'unrecognisable', his wife, Desree Pether, has said.
Robert Pether, originally from Australia, was released on bail on Thursday. He was arrested in April 2021 along with an Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan on suspicion of theft.
Mr Pether has been held in a cell with 20 other prisoners. The United Nations says it has been an arbitrary detention.
The arrest arose out of a contract dispute. Mr Pether was an engineer working for the Dubai-based engineering firm CME Consulting on rebuilding Iraq's Central Bank headquarters in Baghdad.
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His wife said Mr Pether is 'very sick at the moment' and she wants to bring him back to Ireland. The couple bought a former convent in Elphin, Co Roscommon, five years ago with a view to turning into a herbal therapy centre. She is an Irish citizen through her Dublin-born father.
Last night she saw him for the first time in four years on video and it was a 'shock'.
'I was very happy to see him – but also to see the state of him, he was completely unrecognisable'.
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Robert Pether released on bail after four years in Iraqi jail
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'It's a shock to the system to see how he has declined. He's not well at all. He needs to come home to get the proper medical care he needs.'
Ms Pether said it has been a 'a living nightmare' to try and get her husband out from jail.
She wants to get a travel ban on Mr Pether lifted so he can return to Ireland.
'I'm hoping there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping we can get through this. It's been beyond frustrating. It's not over. It's one small step in the right direction,' she told the RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme.
He has lost a lot of weight as he has been unable to eat properly since being incarcerated, she said.
The couple have three children, Flynn, Oscar and daughter Nala.
Tánaiste and Minster for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris welcomed Mr Pether's release.
Robert Pether with his wife, Desree, who lives in Elphin with their children
He was told yesterday evening by Iraq's foreign minister Fuad Hussein that Mr Pether was being released unconditionally.
'This is very welcome news in what has been a long and distressing saga for Robert's wife, three children and his wider family and friends,' the Tánaiste said.
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