Desree Pether’s husband, Robert, has been imprisoned in Iraq since April 7, 2021. His arrest stemmed from fraud charges related to a contractual dispute involving his employer and the construction of a new Central Bank building in Iraq.
Mr. Pether, an Australian citizen, resided in Elphin, Co Roscommon, with his wife and children before his detainment.
He and an Egyptian colleague were arrested after being summoned to a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the ongoing project.
Speaking on , Desree recounted urging him not to return to Baghdad while the dispute remained unresolved.
However, she explained he was concerned about his colleagues and “didn’t not want to go back and resolve it.”
She spoke with him via video call on Thursday after his release on bail. Despite the release, he remains subject to a travel ban, preventing his return home.
She described him as “completely unrecognisable,” adding, “It is a shock to the system to see how far he has declined. He is not well at all, and he really needs to just come home so that he can get the proper medical care that he needs.”
She said he has fainted “a few times in the last couple of months due to the fact that he is not eating properly because he can’t keep anything down so if he fainted, he had a bunch of people in the cell looking after him and giving him tea with honey to try to help him so it was the best of a bad situation.”
Reflecting on her tireless efforts advocating for his release, she stated, “It has been beyond frustrating, it has been a living nightmare every day, 18 hours a day, seven days a week and it’s not over.”
She explained: “It is one small step in the right direction finally after over four years. It was four years in April. It is exhausting and I would like to just lie down and just sleep for a year but it’s not over and we still need to get that travel ban lifted.”
She remains uncertain about the necessary steps to lift the travel restriction.
“We still have another major battle ahead to get him home, and until he is actually on a plane out of airspace and on his way, I don’t think we will actually breathe properly and let go of all the angst.”
His release was confirmed on Thursday evening by Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Harris.
Mr. Harris hailed the release as welcome news after a prolonged and distressing ordeal for his family and loved ones.
“Foreign Minister Hussein of Iraq, whom I spoke to last month to urge Robert’s release, called me this evening with the news,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said in a statement.
“I was informed that Robert has been released on bail, and for the moment he remains in Iraq, but I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon.”
