Iraqi Shoe Tosser Gets 3 Years in Prison

The Iraqi journalist who threw both of his shoes at President George W. Bush last December was sentenced to three years in prison. Mutandhar al-Zeidi's lawyer said the decision came after a short trial today. Al-Zeidi said last month that he spontaneously decided to throw his shoes after being enraged by Bush's jovial demeanor during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, "A whole people are saddened because of his policy, and he was talking with a smile on his face and he was joking with the prime minister and saying he was going to have dinner with him after the press conference... I was blind to anything else. I felt the blood of the innocent people bleeding from beneath his feet and he was smiling in that way... So I reacted to this feeling by throwing my shoes."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 12, 2009 8:19 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Too bad that reporter wasn't a tranny in stiletto heels.

infotron1000

Well it was obvious he was going to be punished and I'm glad it's not more. This guy is definitely an all-time badass.

MrCow

didn't people throw tomatoes at bush when he was inaugurated? how many years did they get?

jchez

BTW. Why is this on a site dedicated to NY news? Oh, wait! Bush Derangement Syndrome; I see.

jchez

Under US Law, attacking the President or a Head of State can be punished by up to TEN YEARS in jail.

Past Taliban

GW Bush throws MISSILES at the WRONG COUNTRY, kills THOUSANDS of its citizens, STEALS their oil, TORTURES its people and gets away with it scott-free.

Some poor bastard throws a shoe at him and gets THREE YEARS for it.

Apoparently the U.S. has successfully exported its "justice" system.

Snoopy

"blood of the innocent people bleeding from beneath his feet and..." Wow! Bush better get a doctor to check that condition out. It could lead to a lot of problems later in his life.

It's a wonder those arabs didn't cut off the thrower's feet. That's what they normally do in cases like this.

starrygordon

The Iranians and their Shiite allies in Baghdad are grateful to Bush for deposing their enemy Saddam and turning Iraq over to them. Hence Al-Zeidi must be punished a bit, but not too much, because he is a hero to his people now. In a just world, Al-Zeidi would get a gold medal and a parade, and Bush would be standing before a Nuremberg-style tribunal with hanging as a definitely possible outcome.

Felix Hoenikker

Agreed. Hussein served his role keeping the Iranians busy. Without him they are now everyone's problem.

Escalating the war in Afganistan will will the US's second biggest foreign policy mistake of the century. If the ruthless Soviets couldn't secure it, how can touchy-feely Americans do so?

'Graveyard of Empires' indeed.

EastRiver

If the ruthless Soviets couldn't secure it, how can touchy-feely Americans do so?

For starters, I don't think anyone is giving the Taliban and Al Qaeda Stinger missiles. On the other hand, the Russians do seem to be meddling with our supply routes so maybe it's just a matter of time. With their low birth rate Russia will be half Muslim in about 30 years. Better kiss more ass now.

Felix Hoenikker

True, but I'm sure the stream of low tech arms and funds is steady from China, Saudi, Pakistan, Iran, et.al.

That front is un-winnable in the long term.

chris

I really do think of this as justice served, you can't do that to any world leader. Especially in such a sensitive state like Iraq. Did you think you'd get a slap on the wrist for fanning the flames and feigning some sort of assault/making your 'liberators' look like idiots?

jibbly

Yeah, but come on, 3 years for throwing a pair of shoes? That's 1.5 years per shoe!

RDR105

sigh... the irony of it all. Buck Fush!

Felix Hoenikker

Three years for throwing a shoe at the leader of the 'free' world, and in a middle eastern country no less? Not bad.

For that time, he'll be telling himself it was worth it (except during the prison rape of course).

In just about any other circumstance, he would have been killed (after years of torture) as would his entire family.

When's the book deal?

As far as bringing Bush to task for the invasion...not in this lifetime.

Until Congress and the President can get their collective tongues out of Saudi and Israeli anus, we'll be mired there.

Jebus is returning, you know! Save the holy land!

Dirk

Wow, talk about overkill? The man doesn't deserve 3 years in prison.

matty

Are you kidding me? For throwing shoes? Whatever. Shouldn't bush go to Jail for the thousands of innocents he killed?

Sorry if that sounds adolescent, but I think shoe throwing in comparison to what's been done in Iraq is not worthy of anything more than a literal slap on the wrist.

Kingpin

One man's "threw a shoe" is another's "attacked a head of state".

The guy got what he deserved, just because you don't like Bush doesn't mean you have the right to physically injure him in any way.

Spirit of 76

It's more than just "not liking" Bush. The man was kidnapped a year earlier. Most reporters are murdered after they're kidnapped in Iraq, but he was lucky. Who knows what happened to him during his ordeal?