العالم · بيثر يغادر العراقروبرت بيثر يغادر العراق—حرية لم يمنحها الإفراج من السجنكُتب 12 أكتوبر 2026 في 11:42 ص UTCشاهدالنص المفرّغ0:09Robert Pether has boarded a flight out of Iraq after years unable to leave.0:13The Australian engineer spent about four years in prison, then remained trapped by a0:17travel ban.0:18Lifting that restriction lets him begin the journey back to his wife and children.0:22What does his departure resolve and what still hangs over his return to his family?0:26Pether left Baghdad on Sunday night after Iraqi authorities lifted the ban.0:30His flight was due at Dublin Airport on Monday morning, October 12th.0:34His family lives in Elphin, County Ross Common.0:36His landing and their reunion haven't yet been confirmed.0:39His family described him as exhausted but slightly happier while they awaited his0:43return.0:44His wife, Desri Pether, and their children have lived through years of separation,0:48including a period when leaving prison still didn't let him come home.0:51Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that Pether had left Iraq.0:55The change ends the restriction keeping him in Baghdad after his prison release.0:59His family expected to see him in Ireland that day, more than five years after his1:03detention began.1:03Pether spent about four years behind bars.1:06By June 2025, he had been conditionally released.1:10but a travel ban kept him in Iraq.1:12Counting the whole period as five years in prison erases the long wait that followed1:16his release from custody.1:17Pether was detained on April 7th, 2021.1:20He was conditionally out of prison by June 6, 2025.1:24On September 24th that year, he still couldn't leave Iraq.1:27His departure on October 11th, 2026, finally ended that barrier to returning home.1:32The case grew out of a construction contract involving Iraq's central bank.1:36Pether was the lead engineer for CME Consulting, a company based in the United Arab1:41Emirates.1:42The company was responsible for building the bank's new headquarters.1:44The Central Bank of Iraq and CME Consulting fell into a contractual dispute over1:49alleged failures to carry out the work.1:51Construction delays and payments were also disputed.1:53That commercial conflict became the backdrop to Pether's arrest on fraud charges.1:57An Iraqi judge found Pether and his Egyptian-born colleague Khaled Radwan guilty of2:02deception.2:03Both received five-year prison sentences in August 2021, earlier in the week of2:08August 26.2:09Pether has consistently said the charges were bogus and politically motivated.2:13Dezri called the case a complete fabrication.2:15Pether's fine is reportedly $16 million, but the penalty was earlier put at $122:20million jointly for him and Radwan.2:23The dollar currency hasn't been identified, and the difference remains unexplained.2:27Those figures can't safely be combined or converted.2:30The dispute also reached a tribunal.2:32A finding made public in June 2023 placed responsibility for the underlying2:37commercial conflict on Iraq's central bank.2:39That prompted another family appeal for Pether's release.2:43The family was still seeking his freedom long after international scrutiny had2:46challenged his detention.2:48A United Nations working group assessed the men's detention as arbitrary on2:51discriminatory grounds.2:53Its findings also described enforced disappearance and called for their immediate2:56release.2:57The group adopted its opinion in November 2021, years before Pether could cross the3:02border.3:02Pether faced fresh accusations even while he was already imprisoned.3:06In January 2025, he was described as having been re-arrested in custody.3:10Renewed charges were again raised in April.3:13Meanwhile, his health became an urgent concern during the final months of his3:16imprisonment.3:17United Nations human rights experts warned Iraq against detaining someone to3:21pressure another entity.3:23They said that conduct could amount to wrongful detention and might constitute3:26hostage taking.3:27Their warning raised the possible legal consequence of using a person as leverage in3:31a wider dispute.3:32In that May 20, 2025 communication, the experts said Pether's health was rapidly3:37deteriorating.3:38They raised allegations of detention conditions below humane treatment standards and3:42urged Iraq to protect his life.3:44They warned that delay could cause irreparable harm, including potentially fatal3:48consequences.3:49By June 6th, following his conditional release, his family described him as3:52seriously unwell.3:53Those warnings concern his condition then.3:55His current medical condition hasn't been made clear.3:58Pether can now leave Iraq and travel toward his family.4:01The government hasn't explained the arrangement that enabled his departure.4:05Nobody has clarified where his conviction and the renewed accusations now stand.4:08It's also unclear whether any fine remains due or whether payment was required4:12before he could leave.اقرأ المقالالتسلسل الزمني للقصةHeyDexالمقطع القصير ↗من نقل ماذانقاط نقلتها أكثر من وسيلة إعلاميةPether’s departure from Iraqوسيلتا إعلامTravel ban after Pether’s releaseوسيلتا إعلامPether’s arrest and charges in 2021وسيلتا إعلامPether’s account of the fraud chargesوسيلتا إعلامنقاط نقلتها وسيلة إعلامية واحدة فقط6نقلتها SBS News فقطWong’s confirmation of Pether’s release12 أكتوبر، 8:12 ص UTCPether’s reunion with family in Ireland12 أكتوبر، 8:12 ص UTCنقلتها ABC News (Australia) فقطAustralian representations to secure release12 أكتوبر، 8:20 ص UTCFine demanded before Pether’s release12 أكتوبر، 8:20 ص UTCGovernment policy on monetary contributions12 أكتوبر، 8:20 ص UTCDesri Pether’s reaction to his release12 أكتوبر، 8:20 ص UTCكل سطر هو الادعاء كما سجلناه من تقرير تلك الوسيلة. قورن حتى 13 أكتوبر 2026 في 11:14 ص UTC.
