Five year fight for Elphin man’s freedom
Robert Pether (50) pictured after four and a half years of incarceration in an Iraqi prison.
Today, Tuesday, marks the fifth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment in an Iraqi prison of Elphin husband and father Robert Pether whose family is now losing hope of ever seeing him again.
The father of three and construction engineer was jailed in a €20m contract row between his Dubai-based employer and the Central Bank of Iraq after he and a colleague were arrested in Baghdad on April 7th, 2021.
Robert (50) who is originally from Australia, was released after four and a half years of incarceration but is still under a travel ban in Iraq. There had been expectation at that time of his release that he would be allowed travel home to his family, but this has never materialised. Instead he remains in Baghdad in hiding, completely isolated, with the threat of further charges hanging over him.
His wife Desree said his situation at the moment “is worse than prison, he still hasn’t received medication and he can’t work or live in society.”
The family continues to fight for Robert to be allowed to travel home but they too have been through some very tough times. Desree stated, “I want the nightmare to end. I want the children to have to stop suffering. As a mother that has been the hardest thing, watching them suffer. We are poverty stricken at this stage," she added, outlining the family has spent more than €160,000 on legal fees to date.
She added, “I don’t think we will see him again, we are desperately scared”.
