Overview

• Pether was arrested in Baghdad in April 2021 after a dispute over the Central Bank of Iraq headquarters left him convicted of fraud and handed a five-year sentence with a multimillion-dollar fine.
• A UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in March 2022 that his imprisonment breached international law and documented allegations of torture-like treatment.
• Australian and Irish officials raised his case with Iraqi authorities over 200 times at the highest levels to obtain his conditional release.
• Although now out on bail, Pether remains in Iraq as legal proceedings continue and a travel ban prevents his departure.
• His family and advocates report severe weight loss and other health complications that demand urgent access to specialist medical treatment.