Judicial officials announced that an Iraqi court has acquitted a police officer previously convicted and sentenced to death for leading a group that fatally shot the prominent analyst and government advisor Hisham al-Hashimi over three years ago in Baghdad. Al-Hashimi, who advised the government on ways to defeat ISIS and curb the influence of Iran-aligned factions, was gunned down outside his family's home in Baghdad on July 6, 2020, when assailants on a motorcycle unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing him.
The Baghdad court issued its ruling after a retrial on Wednesday. A lawyer from the criminal court who attended the session stated that the court dropped the charges against Ahmad Hamdaoui due to insufficient evidence, stating that his previous confessions were not sufficient for conviction. The court did not allow media to attend the session.
The lawyer, while reading from the ruling, mentioned that Ahmad Hamdaoui denied all charges against him, and the judges found no legal basis for the accusations. The judge decided to release him unless he is wanted in another case. Hamdaoui was accused of killing al-Hashimi with a police weapon and had been sentenced to death by a Baghdad court last May.
A court official stated that Hamdaoui's lawyers appealed the verdict last year, and the appeals court overturned the death sentence, ordering a retrial. Following al-Hashimi's killing, government officials told Reuters that he was advising on plans to reduce the influence of Iran-backed groups and bring smaller militia groups opposing Iran more under state control. They stated that al-Hashimi's murder was directly linked to his recent work concerning these pro-Iran groups.
Officials from the Iran-aligned militias deny any involvement in the killing. Some supporters of ISIS celebrated his death, but no group has claimed responsibility for the killing, nor has the government placed blame on any specific group.
