Free Robert Pether

Robert Pether was arrested and arbitrarily detained in Iraq since 7 April 2021. Follows & RTs R not endorsements.

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

3/4 Pether Remains Under Baghdad Travel Ban Year After Iraqi Jail Release
https://t.co/ynlvkqoWWW
Ireland - RTE
"He's in a secure compound but he's unable to leave the compound out of fear of being re-arrested," Robert Pether’s son Flynn said. "He can't leave the country, he can't work, he can't do anything so he's effectively in isolation once again, just without the confines of prison walls. "Physically and mentally, he's not in a good way. "He's very sick and he's been unable to get proper medical treatment, he was barely recovering from stage two starvation. "He also has melanomas, and he's deeply concerned about that, but can't do anything about it. "He believes that he will die in Iraq if he doesn't get medical attention soon," he said. @FreeRobPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

Five years ago on Apr. 7, 2021, an innocent 🇦🇺 engineer Robert Pether & his colleague were arrested after being duped into a meeting to resolve a contract dispute. Multiple UN reports & ICC rulings have proven his innocence & the arbitrary nature of his arrest & imprisonment. Although he has been out on bail since June 2025, justice has not been served yet! And it will not be served till he is finally reunited with his family!
@AlboMP @SenatorWong, Robert is a name that doesnt make the headlines often. But he is an innocent husband & a father who is still waiting for his government to fight for him! How long will you let this family suffer before you act & #BringRobertHome?

@ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @IraqiPMO @IraqiGovt @cbiraq @DavidShoebridge @mohamedshia @SimonHarrisTD @HMcEntee @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan @IraqiPresidency @LJRashid @IraqMFA

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

Dear @mohamedshia @IraqiPresidency,
Australian engineer Robert Pether is innocent. This has been affirmed by 2 UN reports & 3 ICC rulings. After more than 4 years of arbitrary detention, he now remains under a travel ban in Iraq, facing possible lung cancer without access to proper medical care.
This Ramadan, we ask you to show compassion & mercy.
Please lift the travel ban & allow him to return home to his family.

@AlboMP @SenatorWong @ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @IraqiPMO @IraqiGovt @cbiraq @DavidShoebridge @mohamedshia @SimonHarrisTD @HMcEntee @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan @IraqiPresidency @LJRashid @IraqMFA

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

Homeless. Severely ill. Malnourished. Financially devastated. Separated from his wife & children. This is the unbearable reality facing 🇦🇺 Robert Pether: an innocent husband & father stranded in Iraq even after being released on bail. His health is deteriorating, & he & his family are suffering.
@AlboMP @SenatorWong, this family has hit rock bottom! When will you act to bring Robert home & end this injustice?

@ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @IraqiPMO @IraqiGovt @cbiraq @DavidShoebridge @mohamedshia @SimonHarrisTD @HMcEntee @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan @IraqiPresidency @LJRashid @IraqMFA

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

🇦🇺 Robert Pether has paid the ultimate price for a country’s total disregard for human rights & int’l law. Released from unlawful detention in Iraq but under a travel ban, his health has deteriorated drastically. His family has been torn apart & pushed to financial ruin; years stolen; lives put on hold for a crime he did not commit.
Arbitrary detention destroys lives. The Australian Government must act now to #BringRobertHome.

@AlboMP @SenatorWong @ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @IraqiPMO @IraqiGovt @cbiraq @DavidShoebridge @mohamedshia @SimonHarrisTD @HMcEntee @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan @IraqiPresidency @LJRashid @IraqMFA

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

HAW Daily Brief 1/5 Elphin Father Makes Heartfelt Plea to Be Allowed Return Home
https://t.co/Y5dzW6t7vK
Ireland - Roscommon Herald
“I am completely broken after being handled like an inconvenience.” Robert Pether wrote: “Here I am: alive, but not living,” he said.
“Released six months ago, but still not free. Not home, not safe, not truly out. Not receiving the medical treatment I desperately need. My life is suspended in a place where no one will state a lawful endpoint, and where my future can be tightened or loosened at will by people who understand exactly what leverage is. “I am sick. I am writing this as someone whose physical and psychological reserves have been ground down for years by uncertainty, fear,” he said. @FreeRobPether

[Stephen Quentin @Stephen_Quentin]

In talking with @HostageAid, Robert's wife, Desree Pether @FreeRobPether, says: "We are consistently asking the Australian government to recognize the two UN reports, condemn the violations of international law & human rights, & take action accordingly.” @AlboMP #FreeRobertPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

5/5 Wife’s Desperate Bring Him Home Plea As Family Face 5th Christmas Without Irish Dad, 50, Trapped In Iraq After Jail Hell
https://t.co/66AhM7jDQW
Ireland - The Sun
The wife of a Roscommon man still stuck in Iraq after being released from prison has told of her agony as she fights to get him home for Christmas.
Robert Pether’s wife Desree said: “A fifth Christmas without him quickly approaches. Not fair. Not right. Not humane. Not civilised. Choices are made weekly to continue breaking international laws.” She said Robert—- who previously survived melanoma cancer & now has prostate cancer — had been left looking “unrecognisable” following his ordeal.
@FreeRobPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

Dear @mohamedshia,
Congratulations on Iraq’s election to the UN Human Rights Council. However, credibility is at stake while Australian engineer Robert Pether remains held in Iraq under a travel ban, despite several UN experts ruling his detention arbitrary & calling for his release.
True credibility begins at home. Release Robert now & show the world Iraq’s genuine commitment to the human rights it has pledged to uphold.

@AlboMP @SenatorWong @ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @IraqiPMO @IraqiGovt @cbiraq @DavidShoebridge @SimonHarrisTD @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan @IraqiPresidency @LJRashid @IraqMFA

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

6/6 Robert Pether: Mandates Of The Special Rapporteur On Torture & Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment
https://t.co/n14pY8DVMv
Geneva - Office of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights
Based on the findings of the WGAD, we reiterate that the arrest & subsequent detention of Mr. Pether is arbitrary. We respectfully request that Mr. Pether be provided with urgent, adequate & comprehensive medical care, treatment & monitoring of his health situation, as appropriate, in a civil hospital. We stress that time is of the essence. We also respectfully call on your Excellency’s Government to unconditionally release Mr. Pether, without delay. The circumstances of his arrest & continued deprivation of liberty must be effectively investigated, pursuant to international standards, & those found responsible of any violation, must be brought to justice.
@FreeRobPether

[Free Robert Pether @FreeRobPether]

https://t.co/L3JB1dy9Gu

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

3/4 ‘Released But Not Free’: Elphin Family in Fight for Father’s Return Home
https://t.co/oQNfsitkCu
Ireland - Roscommon Herald
When 50-year-old Robert Pether was released from an Iraqi prison in June, after 4 & a half years of incarceration, he was unrecognisable to his tearful wife Desree & their 3 children, Flynn, Oscar & Nala. He was released in early June but had no passport, no visa to allow him to work or earn an income, & no way of going to see a doctor, despite his poor health, stage 2 starvation, weakness, blackouts & low blood sugar levels.
@FreeRobPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

4/7 Robert Pether 'Will Die if Put Back in Jail' Says Wife of Dubai Resident Held in Iraq since 2021
https://t.co/wudkAfjPfS
UAE - The National News
Robert Pether, 50, was released from prison in Baghdad at the beginning of June. Despite that, he has remained in Iraq due to a ban on him leaving the country while the possibility of further legal action hangs over him.
“It looks like we will need an absolute miracle [to get him home] at this point, it's not looking good & there are threats of rearresting him,” Mr Pether's wife Desree told The National.
“Robert & Khaled are living with constant psychological warfare that their tiny bit of freedom is going to get snatched away from them again.
“In the week before he was released he was blacking out from low blood sugar, he was only days away from having a heart attack or his organs shutting down,” she said. “He's still very sick. If he goes back to prison he will not survive.
@FreeRobPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

Yang Hengjun has been unlawfully detained in China for 2,435 days.
Robert Pether was released from Iraq but remains under a travel ban, living on the streets with no means to support himself.
Dear @AlboMP @SenatorWong, how long will you remain silent about the suffering of Australians arbitrarily detained abroad? When will you step up to #FreeYangHengjun & bring Robert home?

@dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @ausgov @KMooreGilbert @yanghengjun @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @FreeRobPether

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

HAW Daily Brief 1/4 Aussie Dad Robert Pether Stranded in Iraq After Release from Baghdad Prison
https://t.co/1L9JswEyqH
Australia - https://t.co/ziOz6P40Iy
Mrs Pether says embassy officials haven’t even checked in person on her husband & says Foreign Minister @SenatorWong & Prime Minister @AlboMP have been far from proactive. “Robert is homeless & desperately ill in Iraq. When is the situation dire enough for Australia to do more than make representation on his behalf or is there no strategy to ever do anything different for him?
“When will they publicly condemn the flagrant violations of human rights & international law?
“He’s going to hell in a hand basket & no one seems to care.” @FreeRobPether @dfat

[Free Robert Pether @FreeRobPether]

PODCAST: Robert Pether is homeless and living on a couch in Iraq - 14 weeks after prison release https://t.co/8mGNqIdHsQ

[Free Robert Pether @FreeRobPether]

https://t.co/p1fxTTQFry

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

After 4 years unlawfully detained in Iraq, 🇦🇺 Robert Pether is finally out on bail. But this is not the end of his ordeal. He’s trapped by a travel ban, frail, sick, & his family is forced to set up fundraisers just so he can safely live in Iraq, a place he cannot leave.

@SimonHarrisTD @SenatorWong Robert’s family should not bear this burden. He deserves to come home, get medical care, & rebuild his life after years of suffering. Don’t leave him behind.

@AlboMP @ausgov @dfat @AusForeign @amnestyOz @FreeRobPether @KMooreGilbert @TurnellSean @ChengLeifreedom @AusAmbIQ @DavidShoebridge @MichealMartinTD @IrlAmbJordan @ClaireKerrane @dfatirl @irlembjordan

[Hostage Aid Worldwide @HostageAid]

6/8 Family Launch Fundraiser For Roscommon Dad Held ‘Hostage' In Iraq After Being Jailed Over Work Dispute
https://t.co/bdGkv8g9Vv
Ireland - Irish Mirror
Engineer Robert Pether, who is from Co Roscommon, was trapped arrested and been illegally detained in Iraq since April 2021. His wife, Desree has been campaigning tirelessly for his release, while caring for their three children. 
She said: “We need help to fight for Rob. We’ve just been existing. We’ve paid out nearly €70,000 in legal expenses in the past 12 months.
“We’re paying for very basic safe accommodation for Robert in Iraq since his release from prison. Very expensive. He was released but not free. At this stage homelessness for him is imminent. @FreeRobPether

[Free Robert Pether @FreeRobPether]

Robert is still stuck in Iraq under a travel ban, still sick and unable to provide for himself. Money has run out and he may end up homeless in the coming days. Please consider donating 🙏🙏🙏

https://t.co/vU1u8zEJ1c

#freeRobPether