US calls for Release of Australian Businessman Jailed in Iraq

The United States has said it supports the release of an Australian businessman who has been in prison in Iraq for more than four years.

In a statement on X, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs said:

“We stand with our Australian partners in calling for the release of Robert Pether, following the end of his custodial sentence. We hope to see him reunited with his family as soon as possible.”

Australian engineer Robert Pether and his Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan were detained in April 2021 by authorities in Baghdad in relation to a dispute over the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) headquarters in Baghdad.

They have been sentenced to five years in prison and jointly fined $12 million on charges of fraud. Their families claim they were tricked into travelling to Iraq to attempt to resolve the dispute.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that they were “arbitrarily detained on discriminatory grounds“, and referred the case to the Special Rapporteur on torture.

In February 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Court of Arbitration ruled that the CBI was at fault and ordered it to pay $13m to Abu Dhabi-based Cardno ME (CME).

A court in the Netherlands subsequently recognized and granted the enforcement of the arbitration award.

The ICC judgement from February 2023 can be viewed here.

The ruling from the Amsterdam Court of Appeal can be viewed here [Dutch].

For information on Iraqi law, see our Legal Services page.

(Source: US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs)