Roscommon woman fears for husband’s health after release from Iraqi jail
Vivienne Clarke
The Roscommon-based wife of Australian native Robert Pether, who was released from an Iraqi jail in June 2025, has spoken of her concern for his health, which has deteriorated rapidly as he was released without a visa, ID, his passport or any capacity to go to hospital to seek treatment.
Desree Pether told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that she believed the Iraqi authorities released her husband as they did not want him to die in prison.
Robert Pether had been working as a mechanical engineer on rebuilding the Iraqi Central Bank when he was arrested along with a colleague from CME Consulting, the Dubai-based company they were working for.
CME was in dispute with the bank over payment for the project.
A 2022 United Nations report determined that the case contravened international law.
Both men had been subjected to “abusive and coercive” interrogations. In February 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that the bank was at fault in the dispute with CME.
The Iraqi government lost the cases on appeal, but the two prisoners still weren’t released until June of last year.
Desree Pether said her husband had been very sick when released from prison. “He was almost stage 3 starvation, which is when your organs start shutting down after six months of critical illness.
“He has a condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome and he has a body covered in moles and he has had a melanoma before and now he has recurring melanoma. He has a lesion on his chest that's been bleeding and weeping for a long time, for months, and then now it's like a crater on his chest.”
Desree said the Irish Government had gone above and beyond the call of duty, helping Robert and doing what they can.
“There is a limit to what they can do because he's not an Irish citizen although we did apply for Irish citizen years ago and we're still waiting, which is a shame because that would open the door to a lot more support from the EU etc and which would have been absolutely brilliant, it is good to get that support and know that people are out there fighting for him.”
Because he remained under a travel ban, Robert has not been receiving any medical treatment, she said.
“He's basically in a sanctuary being looked after, it's just not possible for him to move around Baghdad without documentation.
“He's really bad. We had a psychologist that he talks to write a letter and that was back in February stating significant cognitive decline because he's basically in isolation since his release and because he was so sick and untreated and then also a doctor's letter about the situation on his chest and his previous history of aggressive melanoma. So he's not well.
“And the psychological toll as well, in January of this year he said that the worst part isn't even the pain or the illness, the worst part is what has been stolen from him, and that's his time with his children. It's obviously taking a huge toll on him.”
