By John Lee.
Robert Pether, the Irish-resident Australian businessman detained in Iraq for more than five years, has been released and has returned to Ireland.
Speaking at Dublin Airport, Pether said:
"There will be time to talk about what happened. Why it happened. Who was responsible. And why nobody should ever be allowed to do this to another person or another family again."
Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee, welcomed the news, crediting the efforts of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the Australian Government, and Irish diplomatic officials in securing Pether's release. She said Pether would recuperate with his family in Roscommon, and noted that Galway University Hospital was ready to provide care.
Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong, said she had spoken to Pether shortly before his departure from Baghdad. She credited many years of persistent advocacy by the Australian Government at the highest levels, and acknowledged close cooperation with Irish authorities throughout the process.
Pether had been imprisoned in Iraq for more than four years and was subsequently subject to travel restrictions preventing him from leaving the country.
He and his Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan were detained in April 2021 by authorities in Baghdad in relation to a dispute over the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) headquarters in Baghdad.
They have been sentenced to five years in prison and jointly fined $12 million on charges of fraud. Their families claim they were tricked into travelling to Iraq to attempt to resolve the dispute.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that they were "arbitrarily detained on discriminatory grounds", and referred the case to the Special Rapporteur on torture.
In February 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Court of Arbitration ruled that the CBI was at fault and ordered it to pay $13m to Abu Dhabi-based Cardno ME (CME).
A court in the Netherlands subsequently recognized and granted the enforcement of the arbitration award.
The ICC judgement from February 2023 can be viewed here.
The ruling from the Amsterdam Court of Appeal can be viewed here [Dutch].
For information on Iraqi law, see our Legal Services page.
(Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland; Australian Department of Foreign Affairs; RTE)
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