The family of an Irish citizen, who has been detained in Iraq, have said they are extremely concerned for his welfare.
Anti-corruption advocate Yasser Eljuboori - who holds an Irish passport - was arrested on Monday morning at Baghdad Airport.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is "seeking urgent clarification" on why Mr Eljuboori is being detained.
The Department said the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs is "fully seized" of the situation.
In a statement, a spokesperson said Micheál Martin has been in contact with the family.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Embassy in Amman, which is accredited to Iraq, are "actively engaged on this case, including through official contacts with the authorities in Baghdad."
It added that as with all such consular cases, the Department of Foreign Affairs has appointed a dedicated case officer to liaise with the family.
Mr Eljuboori's wife Laura Wickham said she is "extremely, extremely concerned" about what might happen to her husband.
Speaking at her home in Balgriffin, Dublin, she said as the time goes on the situation is "becoming more and more stressful and it's becoming more and more urgent".
Ms Wickham said she had not been able to speak to her husband.
"Whatever is happening, he's been detained. There has to be a reason for it and there has to be a process. I need to speak to him. I need to know that he's okay. I need to know that he's safe."
where he has almost 75,000 followers
In October 2015, Laura Wickham married Yasser Eljuboori, who came to Ireland 16 years ago.
The couple, who live in Balgriffin, now have three young children.
She described her husband as a gentleman and a super dad and she said he adores his family.
Mr Eljuboori made his first visit home to Iraq in 16 years last September, without incident.
"There were no problems. He went to spend time with friends and family. We got all the photos and he came back, no problem."
Ms Wickham, who works as a school principal, said he had waited a long-time to return home and "it was a really positive experience".
Last week, he travelled back to Baghdad to visit his ailing mother and for a family reunion, as his sister was also back home from the United States.
Ms Wickham said: "There was a scenario whereby if he was there as well, that would be the family reunited for the first time in a very, very long time and that was the reason for him going."
However, when he arrived at Baghdad Airport at around 2.30am on Monday to return to Ireland after his week long visit, Mr Eljuboori was prevented from checking-in for his flight back to Dublin.
"He was due to just check-in and come back. I was talking to him the night before. He said, I'm going to be up early and I'll text you when I'm on the plane."
At around 3am, Yasser's brother, a doctor who works in Baghdad, rang Ms Wickham.
"He said get on to the Department of Foreign Affairs. He has been blocked. He's been detained by Iraqi intelligence and they're not telling us anything."
Since then, Ms Wickham said she has received "no official information" as to why the father of three is being held and she has not been able to speak to him.
"I don't know why he's been detained," she said.
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Following his arrest, she said Yasser's friends and family in Baghdad did not know where he had been taken.
"At one point he went missing, so people who were there and his friends and everything, they didn't know where he was and that was extremely distressing."
Ms Wickham said it was initially claimed that Yasser was travelling on a false passport, but his brother and solicitor were later informed that the anti-corruption advocate was being held for defamation.
"They were saying that there was a report from the office of the Prime Minister of Iraq basically saying that he was being defamatory towards the Prime Minister, as a result of his online activism."
She said her husband "engages with that a lot, it's something he is passionate about".
Yesterday morning, Mr Eljuboori appeared before what his wife described as the equivalent to Ireland's Special Criminal Court.
Ms Wickham said she was told the judge ruled that it was not the appropriate court and he was taken to a lower court, but he was not granted bail.
Yasser Eljuboori is due in court again tomorrow.
Asked if she has concerns that her husband is being mistreated, she said "I'm going on information that is being given to me from Iraq, from his representation and from his brother.
"I'm not getting anything official but yes in their reports, they said there was mistreatment in that period of time that I was talking about where he went missing and they are reporting that it involved him being beaten, being blindfolded and being transported to different places that he didn't know."
and returned earlier this month to see her again
The family wants the Irish Government to put pressure on the Iraq authorities to release Yasser.
"The Iraqi authorities need to be put under pressure to release Yasser, that needs to happen," Ms Wickham said.
"As an Irish citizen there, this is not right. He’s done nothing wrong. What's happening there is not right. He's an Irish citizen. It needs to be sorted out. He needs to come home. He needs to be released.
"I'm just desperately urging and urging everybody to just put as much pressure as they can on the Iraqi authorities to let him go," she added.
An emotional, Ms Wickham described the ordeal as "extremely stressful".
"I'm trying my very, very best. I'm using all of my energy to direct it towards awareness and getting him home to me and my children.
"His kids are young, they miss him, he's a big part here. He's an Irishman. He's needed here. He needs to come home. He needs to come home and he needs to come home safe."
