Australian engineer Robert Pether has been given permission to leave Iraq, Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said on 12 October 2026, according to the Guardian. Pether spent more than four years in prison in Baghdad. Although he had previously been released because of his deteriorating health, he remained unable to leave the country.
Wong said she had spoken to him shortly before his departure from Baghdad. According to the Guardian, the engineer was understood to be travelling at the time of publication. The completion of his journey and a reunion with his family had not yet been confirmed.
The Iraqi authorities’ permission marks a new stage in the case, rather than Pether’s release from prison. The Guardian reports that he was detained in April 2021 in connection with a business dispute between his employer and the Iraqi government. The company he worked for was involved in building the Iraqi central bank’s new headquarters.
According to Wong, the decision allowing him to leave followed years of efforts by the Australian government, including at the highest level. She also highlighted the consular assistance given to Pether and his family.
Lifting the restriction allows Pether to leave Iraq after his imprisonment and a further period in which he was required to remain in the country. It does not, in itself, amount to an acquittal or a resolution of the business dispute that led to his detention.
