Pether’s legal team has described the imprisonment as “state sponsored abduction”.
The family of a man who has been locked up in an Iraqi prison have become increasingly concerned for his health.
Robert Pether’s family spoke about his imprisonment on Prime Time on Tuesday (26 April).
Pether, originally from Australia, had been living in Roscommon with his family, until he began working as the head engineer on a four-year project in Iraq.
Following a contract dispute over an extension of time, Robert and his colleague Khalid Radwan were invited back to Baghdad to resolve the dispute between the Central Bank and their employer, CME Consulting.
However, rather than resolving the dispute, both men were arrested, and moved to a prison in Baghdad.
“Five and a half months went past before they got to court,” said Robert’s wife Desree.
“They saw their lawyers for the first time, two days before court, and they went to court and they were convinced that finally given the opportunity to show all of the evidence, proving they’re 100% innocent, that they would be out.
“They were sentenced to five years and $12 million (fine) and not one shred of evidence proving they were innocent in any court setting, right at the beginning, or even after in their court case was ever accepted into evidence.”
“His health is deteriorating. He’s dizzy all the time and he has a new mole on the same ear that he had a melanoma on before.
“He’s losing weight again, he’s already lost like nearly 40 kilos.”
Six international lawyers are working on Robert’s case to bring him home.
“I fundamentally believe that this was a state sponsored abduction,” said London-based Irish lawyer Peter Griffin.
"I fundamentally believe that this was a state sponsored abduction"@ConorMcMorrow speaks to the lawyer of a Roscommon resident imprisoned in Baghdad who is hoping to be released and reunited with family in Ireland.
Read more: https://t.co/16l20e7tdq#Iraq #Pether | #rtept pic.twitter.com/kQd0CAQ7p5
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) April 26, 2022
“It was an entrapment designed to lure two individuals who did not even reside in Iraq to Iraq and thereafter to essentially hold them hostage to some sort of criminal dispute.”
Following representations from Robert’s legal team, a UN body has investigated the case, and referred it to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the two men “have been arbitrarily detained, without any legal basis.”
The Working Group also said there are claims that “…during the trial, Mr. Pether’s statements were purposely mistranslated to indicate guilt.”
Richard O’Halloran‘s recent release has given the Pether family some hope, with both families in contact with each other.
“I think it’s great that we were finally able to get Richard O’Halloran home and if the Irish Government were able to do that for him, what’s to say that we can’t do that for dad?,” said Flynn Pether, Robert’s son.
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