A UN body has called for the immediate release of a Dubai resident who has spent almost a year imprisoned in Iraq over a contract dispute.
Australian engineer Robert Pether was sentenced to five years in jail in August by a court in Baghdad. He also was ordered to pay $12 million along with a colleague, Khaled Radwan, who is also detained.
The 46-year-old, who lived in Dubai with his wife and children, was sentenced over a dispute involving his company’s work for the Iraqi government.
This is a total vindication of Robert and Khaled’s position from the outset. We just want Iraq to now do the right thing
Desree Pether
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued a report on Sunday evening describing Mr Pether’s imprisonment as “arbitrary and in contravention of international law”.
“This is a total vindication of Robert and Khaled’s position from the outset. We just want Iraq to now do the right thing,” said Mr Pether’s wife Desree.
The WGAD report said “both men were lured into returning to Iraq on the pretext of assisting in an investigation and have been arbitrarily detained, without any legal basis”.
There was credibility to the allegations that both men were subject to “abusive and coercive interrogations”, according to WGAD, which that stated the evidence obtained at trial was “improperly obtained”.
It also expressed concern that both men were forced to sign statements in the absence of legal counsel.
“The UN has found in no uncertain terms that Robert and Khaled’s arrest was unlawful and arbitrary,” said Peter Griffin, a UK-based human rights lawyer who has been involved in assisting the families obtain UN support.
“The breadth of the decision is very significant, finding multiple breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
The working group urged the Iraqi government to release both men, investigate their detention and compensate them.
The case has also been referred to the UN’s special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Mr Pether was detained in April after travelling to Baghdad for what he thought was a routine business meeting.
He was working in Dubai as an engineer for CME Consulting, a company contracted to work on the Central Bank of Iraq’s headquarters on the banks of the Tigris river.
He has remained in custody since being detained at the meeting and several bail attempts were rejected before he was sentenced in August.
CME Consulting has not responded to numerous attempts by email and calls to discuss their employees being behind bars in Iraq.
The dispute involves a $33m contract that was awarded to CME in 2015.
The project was suspended a year later, with plummeting oil prices and Iraq’s war with extremist group ISIS cited as the main reasons.
Worked resumed in 2018 with CME working for 39 for 48 of the months stipulated in the contract.
It received payment for 32 of the months before payments were withheld.
The central bank asked CME to extend the contract by three months to make up for work that was suspended due to the pandemic.
The bank told CME it would not make payments for the extension, which led to the company objecting as it said the suspension was not its decision.
The return of $12m was also requested by the bank for “special payments”.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
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Price: from Dh195,000
Company%20profile
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Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
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- Listen actively without interrupting
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
