26-05-2025
Irish wife of detained engineer fears husband will die in Iraqi cell
The heartbroken Irish wife of an Australian who was jailed in Iraq has revealed he has 'passed out' on numerous occasions in the past three weeks due to the poor conditions in prison.
Desree Pether, who lives in Co. Roscommon, said seeing her husband Robert's health deteriorating is 'like watching him being murdered in slow motion', and that he is so weak that any food other than potatoes and rice makes him ill.
Mr Pether, a 49-year-old construction engineer, was jailed in Baghdad amid a € 20 million contract dispute between his Dubai-based employer and the Central Bank of Iraq and was convicted of fraud in 2021. Rob Pether's family is 'living in fear' that he may die in an Iraqi jail. Pic: File
The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention claimed Mr Pether was 'forcibly disappeared' and has called for his immediate release.
'He is that poorly he hasn't the voice to speak on the phone,' Ms Pether said.
'Myself and the kids have to email him daily as he can barely speak when we call.'
The couple have two sons, Flynn, 22, and Oscar, 16, and a 13-year-old daughter, Nala.
'It breaks my heart when I think of all the milestones he has missed, like Flynn's 21st. He basically never saw his kids grow up, and we can never get that time back,' Ms Pether said. Rob Pether's family is 'living in fear' that he may die in an Iraqi jail. Pic: File
'Rob was a pawn in a dispute between the Iraqi government and his employers over outstanding invoices. When he was last home, I warned him not to go back until that had been resolved, so when I see him again, he'll be reminded he should have listened to me.'
Ms Pether also said that her husband was due to be released in January, before new allegations were made against him of money laundering. Mr Pether's Egyptian colleague is also being detained.
'We're in a new level of hell because this new fabricated case could mean a life sentence,' she continued. 'He's 49 and he looks like he's in his 70s, he's skin and bones. I have multiple sclerosis, and now a list of health issues which I never had before. I'm just getting sicker and sicker, and it's really hard on the kids to see me deteriorate so much.' Rob Pether's family is 'living in fear' that he may die in an Iraqi jail. Pic: File
Tánaiste Simon Harris recently met with high-ranking Iraqi officials to discuss the matter, but Ms Pether believes it had little effect.
'As a family, we are grateful for the Irish Government's help; they have gone above and beyond their duty, but the intervention has achieved nothing. The Iraqis can't be seen to admit they were wrong,' she said.
'An international report and three separate UN court rulings have declared that Rob is innocent and is being held as leverage in the dispute, but Iraq still won't budge.
'Iraq is a signature to the New York Convention on arbitration and is compelled to abide by international rulings but has refused to. Rob hasn't been able to keep much food down for the last three months and is so malnourished that he can hardly walk.
'We were 20 years married last October and had planned a ceremony to renew our marriage vows, but that was snatched away from us.
'My dream is that Rob will return fit and able to do that with me, but I am scared that dream won't be realised.'
