Iraqi court sentences police officer to death for murder of government adviser

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An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death a police officer blamed for leading a group that gunned down well-known analyst and government adviser Hisham al-Hashemi three years ago in Baghdad. Hashemi, who had advised the government on defeating Sunni Muslim Islamic State militants and curbing the influence of the pro-Iran Shi’ite militias, was shot dead outside his Baghdad family home in July 2020 by men on a motorbike. A Baghdad court issued a death sentence on Sunday against Ahmed Hamdawi under Iraqi counter-terrorism laws, a judicial authority statement said.