Iraqi bank officials laid 'trap' for now detained Australian businessman
Iraqi bank officials laid 'trap' for now detained Australian businessman
The family of an Australian businessman who was arrested in Iraq says that he was 'trapped' by his Iraq client.
2 min read
His family are desperate to have him home [Getty]
An Australian businessman has been arrested in Iraq over his involvement in a bank construction deal, and his family is urging the international community to aid in his release.
Mechanical engineer Robert Pether was arrested in Baghdad after he travelled there from Dubai to meet with bank representatives to discuss the construction of a new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters.
According to his family, Pether had been invited to attend a meeting with the bank, following four years of back and forth, and disputes around the construction.
However his wife says the bank had laid a "trap".
"He and his colleague had their suits on and got arrested immediately," Desree Pether told the Guardian.
"There never was any resolution and there was never any meeting scheduled. It was a trap."
He has not been informed of his charges, and his wife said she was not told which prison he is being kept in during his 20 days in detention.
Cairo intervened on behalf of an Egyptian colleague who had been arrested with him and provided him with a phone to contact his wife. She said Pether has been kept in isolation without access to a phone or computer.
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"When I spoke to him, he just kept saying 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry'," Desree said. "I keep saying 'It's not your fault, you've done nothing wrong. This is not your fault."
"He's so upset. He's terrified."
Desree criticised the Australian government for refusing to share information about her husband's case, citing privacy laws.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told the Mail Online Australia they are providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Iraq, but did not name Pether specifically.
The pair are based in Ireland, and Irish Senator Eugene Murphy spoke in Parliament earlier this week about Pether’s incarceration.
Pether had "unfortunately been caught in the middle…[of] some sort of contractual dispute", Murphy said.
Pether, who had been involved with the bank project for four years, tweeted in 2017 about the project in Iraq and how much he was enjoying the country.
"I know I always says this – but just coming home after a 2 week stint in Baghdad. Do not believe what the media says – Baghdad is safe. It is a city full of hope, resilience, and potential. Every trip is an experience and shows me something new. I have so much respect for the Iraqi people and genuinely enjoy working with them."
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