The wife of an Irish man who was detained at Bahgdad airport on Monday morning has called for his immediate release.
Laura Wickham told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that her husband Yasser Eljuboori had been travelling back to Ireland, on his Irish passport, when he was detained at the airport.
Her husband had travelled to Iraq to visit his mother who is unwell. He had also visited last September when he had no problems travelling with his Irish passport.
Ms Wickham explained that Mr Eljuboori was a prominent anti-corruption activist with a large social media following. He came to Ireland 16 years ago, the couple met 13 years ago, married eight years ago and have three children, the eldest having just started primary school.
“He is a full on dad wholeheartedly involved. Big family man. Huge. I have a big family. We've extended family in Cork. He's like the first into the Atlantic. Loves his pint of Guinness, big rugby supporter. And he's held in very high regard by his friends, colleagues, neighbours. And he works in LinkedIn here. He loves his team.”
On his previous visit in September, his first in 16 years, he had no problems with his Irish passport and visa, but when he checked in for his flight home on Monday of this week, he was detained by Iraqi authorities who did not give a reason.
“His brother contacted me and asked me to get on to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Then there was a reports that the reason they were holding him was because he had a fake passport or counterfeit passport, which is ridiculous because he entered on the same passport in September.”
On Monday afternoon, Mr Eljuboori “went missing” with no indication of his whereabouts. “He wasn't in the police station in the airport anymore. And that was very distressing. And around that time when I posted to social media, I received some information last night, that he had been mistreated, that he was beaten, blindfolded and transported to different locations.
"They took his phone, his passport and any money that he had on him.”
Ms Wickham said that information had come from her brother-in-law and the Iraqi solicitors representing her husband. “There was an outcry then on social media when that happened, he showed up in a police station in Baghdad, and it was reported that he was being charged with defamation. And that was coming from the authorities of the Prime Minister's office.”
Mr Eljuboori appeared in court on Tuesday where the judge requested his transfer to a different court where he will appear on Thursday, but he continues to be detained without bail.
Ms Wickham has been in communication with the Department of Foreign Affairs and received correspondence from the Tánaiste with whom she hopes to speak again this morning and to meet in person.
“I am very grateful for the assistance they're providing.”
According to the Iraqi solicitors, her husband has been charged under Article 36 of the Publication Law “which is a sanction which prohibits obviously insulting any public institution or official.
"I think the point they're missing there is that Yassar is an Irish citizen. He's traveled there on an Irish passport. He received an Irish visa. He has no Iraqi documents whatsoever. He doesn't have an Iraqi passport.”
Ms Wickham, who is a school principal, spoke of the wonderful support she has received from family, friends, neighbours “my fridge is overflowing” and colleagues.
“I'm using all of my energy, all of this, just to try and get him home. I want him home safe. I'm trying to kind of use my energy in the right places, and that's what I'm doing at the moment. I'm grateful for all of the help that's been pouring in. And everybody he knows, as I said, he's really well-liked.
"He's great fun. He's a gorgeous person. He's my number one person. So I’m actually overwhelmed by the response and people reaching out to raise awareness. So I'm very grateful for that. And that's kind of keeps me going.”
