On Sunday (May 7), an Iraqi court sentenced a former police officer to death for the murder of prominent academic and government security adviser Hisham al-Hashemi.&nbsp;

A Baghdad criminal court found Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid guilty of killing Hashemi — who was a government advisor and an expert on Sunni extremism. His death sentence, which was issued under the Iraqi counter-terrorism laws, as per the judiciary, is open to an appeal.

The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq in a statement on Sunday announced that "a death sentence has been issued against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for the murder of security expert Hisham al-Hashemi".

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Reuters reported&nbsp;that while the media was kept out of the court session, a lawyer who was present for the proceedings, revealed that Hamdawi did not say anything in the court in response to the judge's ruling.

Hashemi, who, as per AFP, was a well-respected academic and an expert on jihadist groups, was gunned down by gunmen on motorcycles outside his home in Baghdad in July 2020. The murder sparked outrage across Iraq and invited condemnation from several Western countries as well as the United Nations.

One year after the murder, Iraqi state television aired the alleged confession of the mastermind behind the attack. It identified the alleged mastermind by his full name, Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid al-Kenani.&nbsp;

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Hamdawi, who was a police lieutenant at that time, admitted to shooting Hashemi with a pistol and also confessed to being&nbsp;the leader of the group that killed Hashemi.

As per AFP, back in 2020, a security source had disclosed that the suspect in Hashemi's murder was believed to have ties to the influential pro-Iranian group Kataeb Hezbollah — which Hashemi had previously criticised in his writings and media comments.

(With inputs from agencies)

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On Sunday (May 7), an Iraqi court sentenced a former police officer to death for the murder of prominent academic and government security adviser Hisham al-Hashemi.

On Sunday (May 7), an Iraqi court sentenced a former police officer to death for the murder of prominent academic and government security adviser Hisham al-Hashemi. A Baghdad criminal court found Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid guilty of killing Hashemi — who was a government advisor and an expert on Sunni extremism. His death sentence, which was issued under the Iraqi counter-terrorism laws, as per the judiciary, is open to an appeal. The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq in a statement on Sunday announced that "a death sentence has been issued against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for the murder of security expert Hisham al-Hashemi". Also read | Syria returns to Arab League after 11 long years Reuters reported that while the media was kept out of the court session, a lawyer who was present for the proceedings, revealed that Hamdawi did not say anything in the court in response to the judge's ruling. Hashemi, who, as per AFP, was a well-respected academic and an expert on jihadist groups, was gunned down by gunmen on motorcycles outside his home in Baghdad in July 2020. The murder sparked outrage across Iraq and invited condemnation from several Western countries as well as the United Nations. One year after the murder, Iraqi state television aired the alleged confession of the mastermind behind the attack. It identified the alleged mastermind by his full name, Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid al-Kenani. Also read | 12 killed, 31 injured in multi-car crash in Turkey; victims burnt alive in resulting blaze Hamdawi, who was a police lieutenant at that time, admitted to shooting Hashemi with a pistol and also confessed to being the leader of the group that killed Hashemi. As per AFP, back in 2020, a security source had disclosed that the suspect in Hashemi's murder was believed to have ties to the influential pro-Iranian group Kataeb Hezbollah — which Hashemi had previously criticised in his writings and media comments. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Iraq court sentences academic Hisham al-Hashemi's killer to death

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Iraq court sentences academic Hisham al-Hashemi's killer to death