Australian held in Iraq for five years over contract dispute is finally released

Pether’s wife says she is ‘hugely relieved’ after months of ‘absolute nightmare’

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

Australian engineer Robert Pether has departed Iraq five years after his arrest for allegedly embezzling funds.

In 2022, a UN working group concluded that the detention of the pair violated international law and due process. Mr Pether has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Pether was released from prison in June 2025 due to his deteriorating health, but was barred from leaving Iraq. An Iraqi court last week dismissed the proceedings against him and lifted the travel ban, citing lack of evidence.

"I spoke to Mr Pether shortly before his departure from Baghdad and am pleased he is now free to move forward with his life," Ms Wong said. She added that his release was secure after "many years of persistent advocacy".

"I know this has taken a real toll on him and his family," Ms Wong added.

"It's been an absolute nightmare, especially these last few months. So many obstacles and plot twists right up to the last minute," she said in a statement.

"He is actually still in transit. We weren't going to say anything until he was safe at the end of his journey," she said on Monday morning.

“This brings to an end an extraordinarily difficult period for Robert, his wife Desree and their children. I know they will be very happy to be reunited for the first time since 2021," she said.

Mr Pether began overseeing the multi-million-dollar reconstruction of the Central Bank of Iraq's Baghdad headquarters in 2015 after having worked in the Middle East for almost a decade.

Following their arrest, both men were held for nearly six months without charge, subjected to what the UN described as “abusive and coercive” interrogations, and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison and a joint fine of $12m (£8.8m).