Australian engineer Robert Pether has left Iraq, five years after he was arrested and, according to the United Nations, arbitrarily detained.

The Australian government confirmed on Monday that Pether, 51, was on his way to his family's home in Ireland. "I spoke to Mr Pether shortly before his departure from Baghdad and am pleased he is now free to move forward with his life," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. She credited "many years of persistent advocacy" by Australia and Ireland.

"I'm hugely relieved," his wife, Desree Pether, told the BBC. "It's been an absolute nightmare, especially these last few months."

Pether was arrested in April 2021 with an Egyptian colleague. Both worked for CME Consulting, a Dubai-based firm hired to help build a new headquarters for Iraq's Central Bank. The arrests came amid a contract dispute between the firm and the bank. He was jailed on fraud charges.

The UN has called his detention illegal. An international court has ruled his employer was not responsible for the business dispute, the BBC reported.

Pether was released from prison last year because of poor health, The Irish Times reported, but he was barred from leaving Iraq. Last week, an Iraqi court dismissed the case against him and lifted the travel ban.

His family, who had lived in Ireland for years, said they had been "living in hell" since his arrest. They feared he would die in prison. Now, after five years, he is finally free to go home.

What we know: Pether left Baghdad after an Iraqi court dropped the case and lifted his travel ban, and he is headed to Ireland.
What we don't: Whether his Egyptian colleague has also been freed, and whether Pether will seek compensation.