Roscommon resident marks his 50th birthday in Iraqi jail

A Roscommon resident has marked his 50th birthday in an Iraqi jail as his family continue to campaign to secure his release.

Robert Pether, an Australian national who had been living in Elphin with his family, was arrested in Baghdad in April 2021 and later jailed on fraud charges.

The United Nations has described it as an arbitrary detention.

The construction engineer was jailed after a €20 million contract row between his Dubai-based employer and the Central Bank of Iraq.

His family expected him home at Christmas last year but instead were devastated to learn he was facing more charges and could now be jailed for another 15 years.

His wife, Desree, told the Roscommon Herald that it came as shock to learn he was arrested again and is being held pending new charges which she says are a spin-off from the ones in 2021. “We haven’t seen an arrest warrant. They didn’t tell us, no one knew what was going on,” she said.

The family are also faced with selling their home due to mounting legal costs.

Mr Pether applied for Irish citizenship before he was sentenced.

Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane has called for his release, while former senator Eugene Murphy said the situation needs to be brought to an end with the release of Mr Pether.