Iraqi court acquits police officer convicted for murder of a government adviser

An Iraq court has acquitted a police officer previously convicted and sentenced to death for leading a group that gunned down well-known analyst and government adviser Hisham al-Hashemi more than three years ago in Baghdad, court officials told Reuters on Monday.
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 outside his Baghdad family home on July 6 2020 by men on a motorbike
A Baghdad court issued the ruling following a retrial on Wednesday. The court dropped the charges against Ahmed Hamdawi for lack of evidence and said his previous confessions were unfit for conviction, said a criminal court lawyer who attended the session.
Media were not allowed access to the court session.