Jewish Israeli-Canadian Benjamin Hassin released from Iraqi prison after 11 years

Israeli-Canadian Benjamin Hassin, a Jewish man in his early 30s, was released from prison in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on Wednesday after 11 years. Hassin, born in Iraqi Kurdistan, immigrated to Israel and Canada before returning to Israel. In 2014, he visited Kurdistan and joined the Kurdish Peshmerga militia. In 2015, he was arrested and charged with murder after allegedly shooting a taxi driver in self-defense, who had threatened him after hearing him speak Hebrew. Hassin was initially sentenced to death.

• His imprisonment was not publicly disclosed for over a year.
• In November 2025, Hassin's death sentence was annulled following a sulha agreement and the payment of $250,000, raised through a global Pidyon Shvuyim campaign.
• The release is attributed to former Israeli foreign ministry official Eyal Sisso and lawyer Alan Lowy, who regularly negotiated in Sulaymaniyah.
• Hassin, who reportedly endured torture and mistreatment, is now en route to Israel and has been accepted into the Aish HaTorah Foundation Program in Jerusalem.