The Irish wife of an internationally acclaimed mechanical engineer being "held hostage" in an Iraq prison said his 12-day solitary confinement was "like any of the American movies that you see with torture.. just appalling". 

Father-of-three Robert Pether is currently in a 14-foot cell with 22 other inmates in a prison in Iraq. He was held in solitary confinement for the first 12 days of his imprisonment. 

The Australian citizen, who lives in Roscommon with wife and three children, was allegedly lured to Baghdad for a business trip, when he was arrested without charge and imprisoned.  

His detention relates to a contractual dispute between his employer, CME Consultants in Dubai and the Central Bank of Iraq.

His wife, Desree McCarthy, is extremely concerned about her husband's condition and said their family is struggling to cope and remain hopeful. 

Their eldest son has deferred his first year of college, while Desree had to organise for emergency counselling for their 16-year-old son. 

"The kids absolutely adore Rob. He's an awesome dad,"Desree told the Independent.ie InFocus podcast. 

"He always travelled a lot for work, but no matter where he was, he would always call our 8-year-old daughter at 8pm for a bedtime story."

"When we heard he had been taken it was like a bomb had dropped in our house," Desree said. 

"I went and woke our boys up and told them what had happened and I was trying to speak and I was hysterical. 

"I didn't get to speak to Robert for nearly three weeks. 

"I could hear him crying. And I said like, oh my God, what's happened?" 

In this InFocus podcast, host Denise Calnan talks to Desree McCarthy about the moment her husband was arrested, the details of his imprisonment and living conditions, her family's desperation for help and her direct appeal to the Department of Foreign Affairs for assistance.

The Irish wife of an internationally acclaimed mechanical engineer being "held hostage" in an Iraq prison said his 12-day solitary confinement was "like any of the American movies that you see with torture.. just appalling". Father-of-three Robert Pether is currently in a 14-foot cell with 22 other inmates in a prison in Iraq. He was held in solitary confinement for the first 12 days of his imprisonment. The Australian citizen, who lives in Roscommon with wife and three children, was allegedly lured to Baghdad for a business trip, when he was arrested without charge and imprisoned. His detention relates to a contractual dispute between his employer, CME Consultants in Dubai and the Central Bank of Iraq. His wife, Desree McCarthy, is extremely concerned about her husband's condition and said their family is struggling to cope and remain hopeful. Their eldest son has deferred his first year of college, while Desree had to organise for emergency counselling for their 16-year-old son. "The kids absolutely adore Rob. He's an awesome dad,"Desree told the Independent.ie InFocus podcast. "He always travelled a lot for work, but no matter where he was, he would always call our 8-year-old daughter at 8pm for a bedtime story." "When we heard he had been taken it was like a bomb had dropped in our house," Desree said. "I went and woke our boys up and told them what had happened and I was trying to speak and I was hysterical. "I didn't get to speak to Robert for nearly three weeks. "I could hear him crying. And I said like, oh my God, what's happened?" In this InFocus podcast, host Denise Calnan talks to Desree McCarthy about the moment her husband was arrested, the details of his imprisonment and living conditions, her family's desperation for help and her direct appeal to the Department of Foreign Affairs for assistance.

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