Engineer jailed in Iraq faces new crisis
A BUSINESSMAN based in Roscommon who was jailed for five years in Iraq may have to serve more prison time after a multimillion lawsuit was announced this week.
Robert Pether was sentenced last year to five years in prison but must pay the Iraqi government €11.3million before he can be released – an amount his family says he has no possibility of raising.
His wife, Desree, lives with their three children in the couple’s home in Elphin, Roscommon.
The case against him and a co-worker was taken by the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank, who blamed them for delays
‘Every time we think it can’t get worse’
in the construction of a new central bank building.
A United Nations report said the continued detention of Mr Pether, a construction engineer, and his Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan was arbitrary and demanded the pair’s immediate release.
Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were arrested in April 2021 after the dispute erupted between the central bank and their Dubaibased employer.
Desree confirmed yesterday that the Iraqi Central Bank has now lodged a €19million lawsuit against Robert and his co-worker, which could mean they will spend many more years in jail. Mr Pether, an Australian citizen, is due in court in May to answer the new lawsuit. He met with his lawyer and the Australian embassy yesterday to deal with the new crisis.
‘Every time we think that it can’t get worse, it gets worse,’ Desree told the Irish Daily Mail yesterday.
Mr Pether was featured on RTÉ’s Prime Time programme, before the new court case was announced.
He had warned his family in a prison phone call late last year that he doesn’t know if he will be released after his initial five-year sentence has expired. He is being held in a prison in the Green Zone in Baghdad.
Desree said the Australian embassy in Iraq has fortnightly meetings with Robert and she said the Government has been helpful. ‘The Irish government is restricted because Robert is not an Irish citizen. But they are making enquiries with the Iraqi government about his case,’ she said.
Last year, Robert lost his appeal, taken under Section 80 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which says that an employee cannot be held criminally responsible for the actions of their employer.
Desree said that delays in the building of the new central bank were inevitable because Covid restrictions meant it was difficult to bring in the required machinery on time.
The Iraqi government was under pressure after cost overruns on the massive project reached the international media.
The 37-storey building is located in Central Baghdad.
Desree is an Irish citizen, as are the couple’s two oldest children, Oscar and Flynn.