An Iraqi police officer sentenced to death for the killing of a well-known security analyst who was critical of pro-Iran militias was released from prison after a retrial, officials said on Monday.
An intelligence official from the Ministry of Interior cited by the Associated Press said Ahmed Hamdawi al-Kinani was released after he received an acquittal when his case was reopened.
An official from Iraq’s Iran-backed militias told the AP Kinani was released on Sunday. He was convicted of the murder of Hisham al-Hashimi and sentenced to death last May.
Hashimi was shot outside his home in Baghdad by assassins on a motorcycle in 2020 after receiving threats from pro-Iran militias. He was arriving at his home following a TV interview in which he criticized the armed groups’ attacks against diplomatic missions.
Hashimi had advised the US-led coalition and was an outspoken critic of pro-Iran militias after the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) group in December 2017. He reported he had received multiple threats from the groups before his death.
Kinani, who said he was a first lieutenant in the police, confessed to the killings in a video aired by state media after his arrest. Security officials connected him to a militia but did not reveal its name.
Iraq’s judiciary decided last August to annul the death sentence and renew an investigation. Militia group Kataib Hezbollah praised the courts and said Kinani had been wrongly accused.
