Latest news with #WorkingGrouponArbitraryDetention
Extra.ie
26-05-2025
- Extra.ie
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.'
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Saudi Arabia: UN Experts Call For Immediate Release Of Child Offenders
GENEVA (30 April 2025) – A group of human rights experts today expressed dismay at the continuing prosecution and sentencing of child offenders in Saudi Arabia, where five people who reportedly committed crimes when they were under the age of 18 have each been charged for protesting against the Government's treatment of the Shia Muslim minority and for attending funerals of those killed by State authorities. 'Enforcing a death sentence in violation of a State's obligations under international law amounts to arbitrary execution and is therefore unlawful,' the experts said. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) had previously stated in its opinion concerning Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj that their deprivation of liberty was arbitrary as it had no proper legal basis. The five individuals have been sentenced to death and face imminent execution. 'We call for the immediate release of the five individuals, to prevent any irreparable harm to their lives or personal integrity,' the experts said. They had previously called for all necessary interim measures to be taken to halt the executions. 'Capital punishment and life imprisonment without possibility of release for offences committed by persons under the age of 18 are explicitly and strictly prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child,' they said. The Working Group found that the deprivation of liberty of these five individuals was arbitrary, as it resulted from their exercise of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, and to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. 'We had previously communicated to the government of Saudi Arabia our concerns about the fairness of the trial, as it was tainted by ill-treatment and torture, amounting to a violation of fair trial rights,' the experts said, adding that alleged forced confessions taint the entire trial process, regardless of whether other evidence was available to support the verdict. The experts noted that the deprivation of liberty of the five individuals was likely due to their religious affiliation, as they belonged to the Shia minority. 'We are alarmed by the pattern of persecution and long history of discrimination against the Shia religious minority in Saudi Arabia,' they said. 'The situation is particularly worrying given the sharp increase in the number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia, with some 65 executions carried out since the beginning of 2025,' the experts said.
