An appeal launched to release a Roscommon-based engineer currently jailed in Iraq has been quashed.
Australian Robert Pether has been in a Baghdad jail since April, following a dispute between his employer and the Central Bank of Iraq.
His wife and children currently live in Elphin in Roscommon where they are battling to see the husband and father released.
The Australian engineer was part of a contract to build the bank's new headquarters in the country's capital city.
Following contract disputes, Mr Pether along with an Egyptian Colleague were arrested in April and jailed.
Last month, the Australian Engineer was sentenced to 5 years in jail along with a $12 million fine.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs has raised concerns over the treatment of the Roscommon based engineer and the direction of the court case.
Speaking to Shannonside FM after his arrest, Robert's wife Desree says he's been kept in appalling conditions and has been forced to sign court documents in Arabic without a translator present.
Following his sentencing, an appeal was launched to see him released from prison and the charges dropped.
However, it has emerged that the appeal was denied following a closed-door hearing last week without the accused or their lawyers present.
Desree Pether appeared on Australian National television yesterday to highlight her husband's case and call for international support.
For the past six months, sporadic phone calls from a Baghdad jail have been the extent of the contact between 'kidnapped' Australian engineer Robert Pether and his cherished family.
Watch the full #60Mins story on @9Now: https://t.co/Es4yqPYaO4 pic.twitter.com/RCF9QRrEYF— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) November 1, 2021
In an interview with #60Mins reporter Tara Brown, long-time friend of 'kidnapped' Australian engineer Robert Pether said the man he knows is not capable of the crimes he stands accused of. pic.twitter.com/nKSM2P7tNJ
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) November 1, 2021
