Australian engineer Robert Pether has left Iraq, five years after his arrest in Baghdad, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday.
In a statement, which The Guardian reported her office issued on Monday, Wong said: “The Australian Government welcomes the Iraqi Government’s decision to allow Mr Robert Pether to leave Iraq today.”
Mr Pether, 51, is travelling to Ireland to be reunited with his family, the ABC reported. Wong said in the statement that she had spoken to him before he left: “I spoke to Mr Pether shortly before his departure from Baghdad and am pleased he is now free to move forward with his life and be reunited with his family.”
Desree Pether spoke about the months before his release. According to the ABC, she said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare, especially these last few months.”
Should Australia do more to bring home citizens detained overseas?
Choose an answer, then select Vote.
From Arrest to Release
Mr Pether was arrested in April 2021 along with an Egyptian colleague, the ABC reported. He and his family say the charges stemmed from a dispute over the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters in Baghdad, according to the ABC. His firm was CME Consulting, The Guardian reported.
He was found guilty in August 2021 after a judge deliberated for 15 minutes, SBS News reported. The ABC reported that he was sentenced to five years’ jail and a $16 million fine.
In March 2022, a UN working group found that he had been arbitrarily detained in breach of international law, according to The Guardian.
In 2024 he wrote a letter from prison saying he felt abandoned, the ABC reported. “So far, I just feel abandoned. I am sick, and worried I will not survive this ordeal much longer,” he wrote.
He was released from prison in June 2025 after more than four years behind bars, but he was barred from leaving Iraq, according to the ABC. Last week an Iraqi court dismissed the proceedings against him and lifted the travel ban, citing a lack of evidence, The Guardian reported.
Questions Over Pace and Timing
Wong said the government had made more than 280 representations to Iraqi officials, the ABC reported. Her statement said: “Today’s outcome follows many years of persistent advocacy by the Australian Government, including at the highest levels of government, and sustained consular assistance to Mr Pether and his family.”
Asked whether money had changed hands, Wong said, according to the ABC: “I’ve made it clear the Australian government doesn’t make monetary contributions in relation to alleged offences, but what we do do is make sustained advocacy a part of how we engage on these issues.”
SBS News reported that she said at a press conference the government had not been part of any payments. She did not confirm whether any had been made, SBS News reported.
Criticism of the government’s handling of the case has come from inside and outside federal politics.
Greens senator David Shoebridge welcomed the release but said opportunities to free Mr Pether sooner were missed, according to the ABC. He said: “I think there have been missed opportunities in the last few years to put pressure on Iraq.”
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was detained in Iran for more than two years, said the release took too long but called it a success, according to the ABC. She said: “I think that is a success.”
His pro bono team, Slaney Advisors, criticised the timing of Wong’s statement because Mr Pether was still transiting through Turkey, The Guardian reported.
Peter Griffin, managing director of Slaney Advisors, said, according to The Guardian: “We were aware for some time that minister Wong was keen to be the first to break this fantastic news,” adding: “But Robert’s safety was paramount.”
Wong’s office declined to respond, The Guardian reported.
The Road Home to Ireland
Mr Pether’s flight to Ireland went via Turkey, according to The Guardian.
His family had held back from speaking publicly while he travelled. Desree Pether said, according to the ABC: “He is actually still in transit. We weren’t going to say anything until he was safe at the end of his journey.”
She also looked ahead to his arrival. “[The happiness will be felt] more so when he takes off again and lands back here,” she said, speaking to SBS News.
Sources: Minister for Foreign Affairs, “Statement on Robert Pether”, 12 October 2026 (https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/statement-robert-pether); ABC News, “Australian engineer Robert Pether allowed to leave Iraq five years after arrest”, 12 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-12/australian-engineer-leaves-iraq-five-years-after-arrest/107256156); The Guardian, “Lawyers who helped detained Australian Robert Pether leave Iraq criticise Wong for announcing news”, 12 October 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/12/australian-engineer-robert-pether-released-iraq-baghdad-prison); SBS News, “‘Exhausted’: Family speaks as Australian man released from Iraq after post-prison limbo”, 12 October 2026 (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/exhausted-family-speaks-as-australian-man-released-from-iraq-after-post-prison-limbo/132d408cr)
Photo: US Department of Defense (Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro, US Navy), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
For illustration: an aerial view of the Tigris River curving through Baghdad, taken in July 2016. Not a picture of anyone named in this report.
