Penny Wong welcomes Iraqi government’s decision to allow engineer to leave Baghdad but Pether’s team criticise timing of media statement

• Get our new political email, free app or daily news podcast

Advisers to Australian Robert Pether have expressed concern about the timing of a statement from the foreign minister announcing his departure from Iraq, saying it was issued at a sensitive period while the engineer was still transiting through Turkey.

Penny Wong’s office issued a statement on Monday announcing that Pether had been allowed to leave Iraq after five years trapped in the country, including a four-year stint in jail that his family feared would kill him.