Robert Pether describes his 'innocence' and brush with death after five years in Iraqi prison

Robert Pether has spoken publicly for the first time since his release from an Iraqi prison, stressing his innocence and describing his experience as a brush with death during more than five years behind bars.

Pether, an Australian engineer, and his Egyptian colleague Khalid Radwan were detained in Baghdad in 2021 after flying in for a meeting with bank officials to resolve a dispute involving his engineering firm, CME Consulting.

“We were innocent when we were taken on the 7th of April 2021, and we remain innocent today,” Pether said, reflecting on the years since his detention began.

He described being released from prison “hours away from death,” saying his body was shutting down after months of critical illness and excruciating pain while he remained trapped in Iraq.

Pether also spoke about the people who supported him through the ordeal, saying of one supporter that she is “an incredible person, someone that I have so much respect for,” and describing the emotion of finally being able to come home as something he struggled to put into words after years of detention.

Separately, the same live political coverage that carried Pether's comments also reported on calls for the prime minister to contact U.S. President Trump regarding an execution livestream, though further specifics of that separate matter were not detailed in the same report.

Pether's release and his account of his detention are likely to keep drawing attention as more details about the circumstances of his years in Iraqi custody become public.