Iraq freed the Australian engineer after four years, but keeps a ban on travel

Baghdad: Iraq has released an Australian Mechanical Engineer on bail, which was detained for more than four years over the dispute with the central bank, officials said on Friday, although he stops leaving the country.According to a United Nations report, Robert Pether was working for an engineering company contracted to oversee the construction of the bank’s new Baghdad headquarters, when he was arrested in April 2021 with his Egyptian deputy Khalid Redwan.A report by a working group for the United Nations Human Rights Council stated that arrests arrests from a constructive dispute on “alleged failure to execute some payments”.The work group said that both men were sentenced to five years in jail and fined $ 12 million.Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a security officer told the AFP that Pether had issued “due to his poor health” in his half -century.The officer refused to comment on the fate of Redwan.Australia’s ABC Broadcaster, quoting the country’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, welcomed the release, saying that the Australian government had raised the issue more than 200 times with Iraqi officials.The Foreign Minister for Simon Harris, Ireland, where Pedar’s family lives, posted on X: “This evening, I have been informed about the release of Robert Peder on bail, which has been a case of great concern in Iraq.“This is a very welcome news in a long and disturbing story for Robert’s wife, three children and their broad family and friends.”Talking to Irish National Broadcaster RTE, Peder’s wife Desry Peder said that her husband “was not at all” and “really just needs to come home so that she can get proper medical care”.“He is perfectly recognizable. It is a shock to the system how far he refused,” he said.