Jewish Israeli-Canadian freed after 11 years in Iraqi prison
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Benjamin Hassin, a Jewish man with Israeli and Canadian citizenship, gained his release from an Iraqi prison in Sulaymaniyah after being held for 11 years.
Hassin was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and later immigrated with his family to Israel, then Canada, before returning to Israel as a teenager. He travelled to Kurdistan in 2014 to visit family and, according to reports, joined Kurdish Peshmerga militia fighting ISIS.
In 2015, while leaving for Israel, Hassin shot and killed a taxi driver after the driver allegedly threatened him upon learning he was Israeli. Hassin claimed self-defense, but Iraqi authorities arrested and initially sentenced him to death. The case remained undisclosed for over a year until a former Israeli deputy minister publicly announced efforts to secure his release, which then drew support from international Jewish groups.
After a sulha agreement, a traditional method of reconciliation, annulled his death sentence in November 2025, Hassin remained imprisoned despite $250,000 being raised to satisfy the victim’s family. Former Israeli foreign ministry official Eyal Sisso and lawyer Alan Lowy negotiated his release, with Lowy making regular trips to Sulaymaniyah, near the border with Iran.
Hassin is now en route to Israel and has been accepted into the Aish HaTorah Foundation Program in Jerusalem to help him rebuild his life after reportedly experiencing torture and mistreatment during his imprisonment.
