Son of Dubai resident held in Iraq for five years desperate to bring ‘hero’ father home
The son of a Dubai resident detained in Iraq for five years over a contract dispute has told of his fears he will be put behind bars again as he battles cancer.
Australian engineer Robert Pether, 50, was released from prison in Baghdad in June last year but remains in Iraq due to a ban on him leaving the country over financial claims linked to the case.
United Nations experts last week urgently called for a resolution and expressed alarm over Mr Pether’s deteriorating health because he has no access to medical care to treat a high-risk melanoma condition.
The UN statement – the fourth in five years – highlights the devastating impact on Mr Pether and his Irish family pleading for his return home since his August 2021 arrest.
Flynn Pether, 23, says the family is anxious about the aggressive skin cancer. “He has daily, consistent fears that it is going to spread to his lymphatic system – it’s a very serious concern,” Mr Pether told The National from Ireland.
“He has been in a cognitive decline because he has been released into complete isolation in a foreign country where he has no support networks, no availability of proper medical treatment.”
Time capsule of memories
Mr Pether and his Egyptian co-worker Khaled Radwan, who both lived in Dubai, travelled to Baghdad in April 2021 and were jailed four months later and fined $12 million over a contract dispute between his employer and Iraqi authorities.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2021 deemed his detention arbitrary and said he was being used as leverage in a commercial dispute.
Both men were released from prison last year and Mr Pether has since been living in a secure compound.
The financial strain falls on his family in Ireland to foot the bill for his medical, legal and living expenses, and they are planning to sell a home filled with memories of their father.
“We are in a situation where we’re forced to sell it, it’s just like watching a piece of him disappear,” said Mr Pether.
“We’ve had to liquidate whatever remaining assets we have. It’s incredibly difficult to navigate because we have no safety net.
“Myself, dad and mum started renovations on this property in 2021 and we were working through it together. Since he’s been gone, it’s become like a time capsule of his works, and so selling it is immensely difficult. Ideally we would be able to maintain it and keep it.”
Extending hope
Mr Pether was 17 when he last saw his father and has since graduated from engineering college. His mother Desree, Mr Pether and his younger siblings Oscar and Nala speak to their father daily, hoping to extend a lifeline of hope.
“I pursued engineering to be more like him. It’s been hard going through so many different milestones without him, it feels like I’ve been robbed,” Mr Pether said.
“I always perceived my dad as my hero. He still is to this day. He was a brilliant engineer who worked in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He was a very kind man who would give back to the community.
“Since he’s been arrested, you’re watching this man you put up as an idol just be torn apart day after day. It’s an ever-going struggle to keep his spirits up because it’s hard to go through that same loop for five years.”
Mr Pether worries he may be rearrested so he never leaves the compound he lives in.
“I want to tell people that whoever could help should step forward and help,” Flynn Pether said. “My dad doesn’t really see the light of day too often. He doesn’t go outside because he’s just living in constant fear of being rearrested, because he believes he will not survive prison.
“I want to be able to get towards a situation where we’re able to return him home and we no longer have to live in fear and we can rebuild our lives to somewhat of a normal standard. It will never be normal again.”
Official efforts
A representative for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian government acknowledged “the immense toll” that Mr Pether’s detention and travel ban have taken on him and his family.
“The Australian government will continue to advocate for his well-being and for him to be able to depart Iraq to be reunited with his family,” the representative told The National.
“The Australian government has consistently advocated on Mr Pether’s behalf for many years, making more than 260 representations to Iraqi authorities and engaging at the highest levels, including the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. These efforts were instrumental in securing Mr Pether’s release from detention on June 5, 2025.”
The Office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs also pushed for his release last year.
Mr Pether and his colleague Mr Radwan worked for CME and were detained during a business meeting about work on Iraq’s central bank headquarters near the Tigris. The dispute was over a $33 million contract awarded to CME in 2015.