The Roscommon-based wife of Australian native Robert Pether, who was released from an Iraqi jail last June , has spoken of her concern for his health, which has deteriorated rapidly as he was released without a visa, ID, his passport or any capacity to go to hospital to seek treatment.Desree Pether told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that she believed the Iraqi authorities released her husband, who remains under a travel ban, as they did not want him to die in prison. Robert Pether, who had been living in Ireland for a number of years, had been working as a mechanical engineer on rebuilding the Iraqi Central Bank when he was arrested along with a colleague from CME Consulting, the Dubai-based company they were working for. There was a contract dispute between his employer and the Central Bank of Iraq, which led to him and his Egyptian colleague being imprisoned.[ Irish resident handed five-year sentence in Iraq for unspecified convictionOpens in new window ]The pair were sentenced to five years and fined $12 million by an Iraqi court. Pether was detained in April 2021.A 2022 United Nations report determined the case contravened international law. Both men had been subjected to “abusive and coercive” interrogations. In February 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled the bank was at fault in the dispute with CME. The Iraqi government lost the case on appeal, but the two prisoners weren’t released until June of last year. Desree Pether said her husband had been very sick when released from prison. “He was almost stage-three starvation, which is when your organs start shutting down after six months of critical illness.“He has a condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome and he has a body covered in moles and he has had a melanoma before and now he has recurring melanoma. He has a lesion on his chest that’s been bleeding and weeping for a long time, for months, and now it’s like a crater on his chest.” [ Robert Pether’s wife shocked by his emaciated condition after he spent four years in an Iraqi jailOpens in new window ]Desree said the Irish Government had gone above and beyond the call of duty while helping her husband and was doing what it could. “There is a limit to what they can do because he’s not an Irish citizen. Although we did apply for Irish citizenship years ago and we’re still waiting, which is a shame because that would open the door to a lot more support from the EU, etc ... which would have been absolutely brilliant. It is good to get that support and know that people are out there fighting for him.”“He’s basically in a sanctuary being looked after, it’s just not possible for him to move around Baghdad without documentation.“He’s really bad. We had a psychologist that he talks to write a letter, and that was back in February, stating significant cognitive decline because he’s basically in isolation since his release and because he was so sick and untreated. And then also a doctor’s letter about the situation on his chest and his previous history of aggressive melanoma. So he’s not well.“And the psychological toll as well - in January of this year, he said the worst part isn’t even the pain or the illness, the worst part is what has been stolen from him and that’s his time with his children. It’s obviously taking a huge toll on him.”