TV journalist Zaidi gets 3 years for 'booting' Bush

13 March 2009

The Iraqi TV journalist who threw his shoes at former US president George W Bush, making himself a hero across the Arab world, was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail by a Baghdad court after being found guilty of assault. (See: Bush discovers WMD in Baghdad - no consolation prize, though) 

The sentence sparked outrage by supporters of the journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who had pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a foreign leader. His lawyers say they will appeal the verdict.

Zaidi told the court Thursday that his action was a natural response and that he did what any Iraqi would have done. In a court appearance last month, the journalist said the president's talk of "victory," combined with what Zaidi called his ''icy'' smile, proved too much after years of war and destruction following the US-led invasion.

Yesterday, Zeidi testified that he was overwhelmed when Bush started speaking at the press conference. ''I saw only Bush and it was like something black in my eyes,'' he said from the dock, an Iraqi flag draped across his shoulders.

''So I took the first shoe and threw it but it did not hit him. Then spontaneously I took the second shoe but it did not hit him either. I was not trying to kill the commander of the occupation forces of Iraq,'' he said.

Supporters in Baghdad said the verdict was politically motivated. Zaidi has been in Iraqi custody since he hurled the shoes at Bush during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December.