GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed grave concern over reports that Australian engineer Robert Pether, who has already spent years arbitrarily detained in Iraq, is now facing a potentially life-threatening medical situation while still unable to leave the country.
Pether travelled to Baghdad in April 2021 to assist in resolving a contractual dispute between his employer, CME Consulting, and the Central Bank of Iraq. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to imprisonment. In 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that his detention was arbitrary and that he was being used as leverage in a commercial dispute. In a joint communication issued in May 2025, human rights experts reiterated concerns that his continued detention and treatment could amount to hostage-taking under international law.
"Pether has been released from detention, but is still unable to leave Iraq," the experts said. "Restrictions linked to ongoing financial claims arising from the underlying commercial dispute continue to prevent his departure."
Since his release in June 2025, Robert Pether's health situation has reportedly deteriorated significantly. Pether has a documented history of melanoma and dysplastic nevus syndrome, placing him in a high-risk category requiring specialist surveillance and treatment. Concerns are heightened by previous skin procedures carried out while he was detained in Iraq, during which suspicious lesions were allegedly not properly assessed and treatment complications reportedly resulted in serious infection. Medical assessments warn of the risk of further progression and metastasis and recommend urgent specialist oncological evaluation.
The experts reiterated that the situation is particularly alarming given Pether's declining health, inadequate access to specialist medical care, and the severe psychological toll of his prolonged detention and uncertainty.
"No one should be deprived of access to potentially life-saving medical care because of a commercial dispute to which they are not personally a party," the experts said. "Nor should financial claims, civil proceedings, or political considerations prevent a seriously ill individual from accessing urgent treatment and returning home."
"We urge Australian and Iraqi authorities to act without delay to ensure that Robert Pether receives appropriate specialist medical care and that any remaining obstacles preventing his departure from Iraq are urgently resolved," they said.
