Iraqi jailed for Bush shoe attack

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.

Muntadar al-Zaidi had pleaded not guilty as his trial resumed in Baghdad, telling the judge: "My reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi."

Hitting someone with a shoe is a grave insult to Arabs. Zaidi could have been jailed for 15 years for the assault.

>

The head of Zaidi's defence team Dhiaa al-Saadi described the sentence as "harsh and is not in harmony with the law" and said he would file an appeal.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7938947.stm

[itsrobert]

1. I was expecting something more severe

Maybe the dislike for Bush swayed the sentence?

[saigon68]

10. The CHIMPANZEE can still be Pelted

http://www.sockandawe.com/

Have a go ---and hit the coke addled slob in the dome

[DUlover2909]

2. LET HIM GO!

:crazy:

[Ecumenist]

14. Amen, DUlover, Amen! nt

[Sivafae]

3. Well he didn't actually hit Bush eom

[John Kerry VonErich]

4. And there is no parole in Iraq.

nt

[No Elephants]

5. I agree that the penalty is harsh. It was an act of free speech, but also

an attempted battery (aka assault). While assault is a crime, it does not warrant three years in prison, IMO. However, I disagree that harsh penalties are not in harmony with Iraqi law.

Not long after the invasion, when the U.S. was the only power operating the government there, the U.S. let Iraqis incorporate all of Sharia law into the Iraqi Constitution by reference. And we Americans allowed our government to do that.

Harsh penalties abound in Sharia law.

[geckosfeet]

6. We let them? It's their law. They can do whatever the heck they want.

[No Elephants]

7. Who's "they?" We and our chosen few put that Constitution together.

[geckosfeet]

39. Yeah. I can see Rummy advocating for the inlcusion of Sharia law.

[acmavm]

8. Boy, do I have mixed feelings on this one. He did try to attack a foreign

'head of state'. But on the flip side, it was a war criminal who is the face of the cabal that murdered possibly a million Iraqi people to steal their land.

He should have hit him.

[Island Blue]

9. Yet bush has yet to be jailed for Iraq attack.

Irony, no?

[Ecumenist]

11. Da helll??!! Damn, he should have gotten an award.

If anything, he should have been censured because he missed the son of a bitch.

[Sultana]

12. Well look at it, it would have been much worse if he had thrown the shoe at Saddam

just sayin'

[dcindian]

13. Throw a shoe get some jail time.

Rape a country and get a retirement.

[Submariner]

15. The shoe thrower should get the Nobel Peace Prize when he gets out

We should start a world wide campaign to get the shoe thrower released.

Two shoes Dubya is lucky is was just shoes thrown at him and that he didn't get shot.

[firefox28]

16. Hmmm

at least only 3 years. If he threw the shoe in America, the Secret Service and the Justice would have kept him for a longer time.

[HughBeaumont]

17. Free Muntadar al-Zaidi.

Lessee . . . being responsible for missing an unelected "leader" (which at worst would have bruised his forehead and massive ego) vs being responsible for at least 1 million deaths, which humanity never gets back.

Yeah, free Muntadar al-Zaidi.

Perspective, people.

[sofa king]

18. We should set up a fund for the guy.

I know I'm only good for a buck a shoe, but if everyone who applauded his actions dropped in two bucks, he'd have like six billion dollars.

[disndat]

19. Good idea

Some one should get the address of his family where we can send the two dollars.

[bushmeister0]

20. Didn't Bush say afterwords, it didn't bother him, the guy was just

exercising his newly given (by Bush) free speech rights?

This doesn't bode well for freedom in Iraq then, right?

[jefferson_dem]

21. Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush jailed for 3 years

Source: AP

Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush jailed for 3 years
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

http://d.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/400,http%3A%2F%2Fd.yimg.com%2Fa%2Fp%2Fap%2F20090312%2Fcapt.87464b10c4fe4494acac40cb2fe71bc7.iraq_bush_shoe_bag101.jpg

BAGHDAD – The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-President George W. Bush was convicted Thursday of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison, lawyers said. He defiantly shouted "long live Iraq" when the sentence was read.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi's bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who consider him a hero for expressing his anger at a president who is widely disliked for his decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The 30-year-old journalist pleaded not guilty to the assault charge Thursday, telling the three-judge panel that "what I did was a natural response to the occupation."

Reporters and family members were then ordered out of the courtroom for the verdict, which was relayed to them by defense attorneys and a court official.

Some of al-Zeidi's relatives collapsed after the ruling was issued and had to be helped out of the courthouse. Others were forcibly removed by guards after shouting "down with Bush" and "long live Iraq."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

[theoldman]

22. Things are looking up in Iraq.

In the old days he would be tortured to death. I predict he will be our in less than three years.

[Loge23]

23. 18 months for each miss (nt)

[maxsolomon]

24. they're learning so much from us!

maybe they can beat our record of inmates/capita!

it'll be tough though - we're the best at jailing our people by a country mile!

[AlphaCentauri]

25. Can Oprah give him a million dollars for an interview?

what about a book deal.

[katty]

26. less than 3-give the guy a break--it was only shoes!

[Yes We Did]

27. What's really funny...

Bush dodged eggs on his way into the white house (remember... people were throwing eggs at his limo when he was inaugurated, and on his way out he had to dodge shoes; and not from this guy. Remember the shots of the blow up bush doll everyone was pelting with their shoes?

LOL...

[NJCher]

28. I am proud to say I was one of those egg throwers

Cher

[Downtown Hound]

30. And I for one, am proud of you.

:toast:

[defendandprotect]

29. Three months -- better yet, three days . . . would have been sufficient!!!

Even "time served."

[Lorien]

31. So a guy who throws footwear gets three years while the mass murdering

sociopath sips booze at his mansion in Texas......yeah, we're a sensible and evolved species alright.

:sarcasm:

[Hatalles]

32. Absolutely outrageous...

This is ridiculous.

[underpants]

33. "infamous"

That is how CNN referred to him twice by two different news personalities with 20 seconds of each other

[LiberalLovinLug]

34. We cannot let him be forgotten in jail

He threw the shoe but the actual protest is illustrated closer in this:

[Karenina]

35. I wholeheartedly agree and WELCOME TO DU!

:hi:

[LiberalLovinLug]

36. Thanks Karenina

I'll take another nice welcome again (although I did get one soon after I joined 2 years ago)

And you have a wonderful day and evening! :toast:

[jzodda]

37. hmmm If such a thing happened in this country what would a person get?

If somebody for instance threw a shoe at the President in a news conference. I wonder how much time a person would receive in this country?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. So pre-emptive strikes aren't ok anymore?

:wtf:

[New Dawn]

40. I am not surprised that the puppet regime put him in jail. But he is the world's hero.

The Bush crime family can not change that fact.

[ncteechur]

41. They should have given him a pair of glasses and a few practice throws.

[Zhade]

42. BOO

FREE HIM

[marasinghe]

43. in this world - heroes go to jail ...

... and mass-murdering scum - like kissinger, cheney, bush, rumsfeld, et al - strut around pretending to be statesmen, enjoy a nobel peace prize, or wallow in plundered wealth.