Man convicted in killing of Iraqi analyst who criticized militias is acquitted and released

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials in Iraq say that an Iraqi police officer previously sentenced to death for the murder of a prominent security analyst critical of powerful Iran-backed militias has been released from prison following a retrial. An intelligence official with the Ministry of Interior said Ahmed Hamdawi al-Kinani was released Sunday after the case was reopened and the court issued an acquittal. Al-Kinani, accused of murdering prominent researcher and security expert Hisham al-Hashimi, was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to death by a criminal court last May.  It was not clear on what grounds he was acquitted.