Hisham al-Hashimi was an Iraqi historian and strategic studies scholar who dedicated much of his work to documenting the activity of Islamic State in Iraq. A respected man in both intellectual and defence circles, he also spent much of his time working on a project to map the activities and politics of the Shi’ite militias that make up the Popular Mobilization Forces, especially distinguishing between those groups loyal to the Iraqi clergy and those loyal to Iran. He had become increasingly vocal in recent years about the misconduct of many of these groups, accusing them of engaging in organized crime and government corruption and advocating for counterterrorism laws to be levelled at those militias attacking foreign missions. These actions understandably drew the ire of several Iranian backed militias, culminating in al-Hashimi receiving several threats. However, on June 6 2020 several gunmen on motorbikes arrived at Hisham’s house in Baghdad, waiting for him to return from work, where one gunman walked up and shot him dead.

The killing sparked outrage both domestically and internationally, with protestors carrying pictures of Hisham at rallies and setting fire to local headquarters of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib Hezbollah, the two militias most suspected of carrying out al-Hashimi’s assassination. This being the latest in a string of targeted killings of prominent academics and journalists caused protestors, already demonstrating against government corruption and Iranian influence in domestic politics, to demand the perpetrators of this violence be put on trial. Prime Minister Kadhimi has pledged to bring the people responsible for the killing to justice and refused to place blame until the Counter Terrorism Service had finished its investigation. This unit was chosen due to its loyalty to the Prime Minister, headed up by Lieutenant General and legal expert Ahmed Taha Hashem who gained public notoriety during the fight against ISIS.

The investigation had previously arrested 14 suspects but handed over all but one to the internal investigation’s unit of the Popular Mobilization Forces due to pressure from Iranian-backed militias, where they were quickly released. The case was subsequently brushed under the rug, citing the belief that the actual killers had already fled to Iran. However, based on the testimony of the one remaining suspect in custody, and Khadhimi’s desire to stave off any more major civil unrest before this years’ elections, has decided to reopen the case. This has resulted in the rearrest of the 13 other suspects, as well as several members of Iraqi security forces suspected to have conspired with Kata’ib Hezbollah to allow 100 militia fighters into the Green Zone to force the release of previous suspects. Furthermore, the Iraqi government has released the suspected identities of the gunmen and is calling on the Iranian government to extradite them for questioning and potential prosecution.