Australian jailed in Iraq conditionally released after four years

An Australian man has been conditionally released from prison in Iraq, after four years of what the UN has called arbitrary detention.

Robert Pether, a mechanical engineer, was jailed in 2021 on fraud charges amid a contract dispute between the consulting firm he worked for and the Central Bank of Iraq.

The UN has said the 50-year-old's detention was illegal, and an international court has ruled his employer is not responsible for the business disagreement.

Mr Pether is "extremely sick" and needs urgent medical care, his wife Desree told the BBC. However, he is still banned from leaving Iraq, where Australian authorities say he continues to face legal proceedings.

The family feels numb with shock, said Mrs Pether, who has been tirelessly lobbying for this moment.

"It's the first time in over four years that we've taken one step in the right direction.

There's a tiny glimmer of hope, but there's another mountain still to go over," she said, adding that he "needs to be home and in hospital".

Mr Pether had been living with his wife in County Roscommon, Ireland, before travelling to Iraq.

Simon Harris, the tánaiste (deputy prime minister) of Ireland - where the Pether family lives - said in a statement to media that Iraq's Foreign Minister had called him to confirm the release.

"I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon."

The Australian government in a statement said it is a "positive development" after years of "persistent" advocacy.

"I know the personal toll Mr Pether's detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

He added that he remained concerned about Mr Pether's health and any outstanding charges against him - though it is unclear what those are.

Mr Pether worked in the Middle East for almost a decade before taking on a huge rebuild of the Central Bank of Iraq's Baghdad headquarters in 2015.

He was arrested alongside his CME Consulting colleague, Egyptian Khalid Radwan, after the bank accused the men of stealing money from the project.

After being held without charge for almost six months, and then subjected to a speedy trial, the two were each given a five-year jail sentence and a joint fine of $12m (A$18.4m, £8.8m).

However, a 2022 report from the UN determined that the case contravened international law, and that Mr Pether and Mr Khalid had been subjected to "abusive and coercive" interrogations.

Iraq's government has previously denied allegations of ill treatment.

In 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Court of Arbitration ruled that Iraq's central bank was at fault in the dispute with CME, and ordered it to pay $13m to the company.

Mrs Pether said she spoke to her husband after his release on Thursday night.

"He's on a bit of a high tonight, but I think he'll probably come crashing down tomorrow."

He looked sick and weak, she said, noting that he can't keep food down and hasn't eaten properly in months. There are also worries he has a potential skin cancer relapse, she added.

"He's unrecognisable. If he got on a plane now and they were checking his passport, they would not know it was the same person."

She said efforts are now turning to have Mr Pether's travel ban lifted, but in the meantime the family has turned to crowdfunding to try to get him private hospital care in Baghdad.

"Enough is enough," Mrs Pether said. "He needs to come home."