Ben Hassin was convicted of killing a taxi driver in Iraqi Kurdistan after traveling there to fight ISIS. He describes the harrowing years behind bars and the moment he thought he'd never see freedom again.
Ben Hassin, an Israeli-Canadian citizen, walked free this week from a prison in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, after serving nearly 12 years behind bars. Hassin had been convicted of killing a local taxi driver following an incident that occurred while he was in the region during the war against the ISIS terror organization.
"This is one of the most incredible feelings," Hassin told Channel 12 News in his first interview after his release. "It's like I got another chance at life."
Hassin's ordeal began almost 12 years ago when he arrived in Kurdistan at the height of the war against ISIS. According to him, he sought to join the forces fighting the terror group. "At that time the war against ISIS was going on, and I decided to come and see if I could join the fight," he recounted. "I didn't enlist officially, it was just like... just as a volunteer, to help the fighters."
During his stay in the area, Hassin got into a taxi driven by a local resident. According to his account, the driver realized he was Israeli or heard him speaking Hebrew, and at some point felt threatened. The incident ended with the driver's death and Hassin's arrest. "It was a kind of self-defense," Hassin said, declining to elaborate on the moment that led to his imprisonment.
After being convicted of killing the taxi driver, Hassin was initially sentenced to death. "You try to find reasons to keep going and you start to lose hope when you know you need to hold on to something that might not be there," he described the period. "They can hurt you for being Israeli and for being Jewish — especially in the prison where I was held."
Over the years, extensive efforts were made to secure Hassin's release. The death sentence was overturned and commuted to life imprisonment, and later, after a "sulha" reconciliation ceremony was held with the victim's family, his sentence was reduced to 15 years. The agreement required payment of $120,000 in blood money to the murdered man's family.
Hassin was accompanied after his release by American attorney Alan Louie, who had led the efforts to free him over the years. On their way to the airport, the two passed by the courthouse where Hassin's trial had been held. The efforts to secure his release also involved Eyal Sisso, who served as deputy director general for consular affairs at the Foreign Ministry, as well as rabbis and members of the Jewish community in the United States.
This week the legal process enabling his release was completed, after his sentence was reduced by a third for "good behavior." Hassin thanked those who worked for his freedom and said he hopes to reach Israel. "I want to say thank you," he said. "Thank you, and thank G-d, and thank you to all the people who helped me."
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