A judge in Iraqi Kurdistan has officially withdrawn the death sentence he had imposed on Binyamin Hassin, a Kurdish Jew who has been imprisoned since 2015.
According to Kan News reporter Roi Kais, the decision was made after a traditional “sulha” agreement was reached between Hassin’s family and that of the driver who was killed in the incident, which included the transfer of $250,000, which was raised by a Jewish community fund.
The development signals the end of an over ten-year public, legal, and diplomatic effort for Hassin. Thousands of people around the world participated in the effort, including rabbis, legal experts, public figures, and civilian activists.
Hassin, who was born in Iraqi Kurdistan, returned to the region in 2014 to visit his grandparents. At the time, the ISIS terror organisation attacked the area, leading to the collapse of local order.
Hassin joined the local Kurdish forces to defend the villages from the terrorists, but in 2015, a taxi driver noticed that he spoke Hebrew and threatened to turn him into ISIS.
A struggle broke out between the two, during which the cab driver was injured. He later succumbed to his wounds. Hassin was arrested, and in 2020, the Kurdish court sentenced him to death by hanging.
