Some REAL March Madness: Muntader al-Zaidi Gets 3 Years (And He Missed Both Free Throws)!

When The Dubster took his farewell tour to Iraq, he must have watched "Dodgeball" on the flight over, because he was able to duck'n dodge both shoes thrown at him by Muntader al-Zaidi. So, for missing both free throws, an Iraqi court sentenced the journalist to 3 years in an Iraqi slammer. The BIG question is "What happened to his shoes?" If this is a (fair & balanced) farce, so be it.

PS: The Donkeys announced that the winning slogan for the billboard to be erected on The BFI's main roadway in South Florida is "Americans didn't vote for a Rush to failure" and that's some more March Madness — a lame taunt for The BFI.

[x NY Fishwrap]
Iraqi Shoe Thrower Gets Three Years
By Marc Santora

Tag Cloud of the following article

al bush com conference court courtroom crime declared defense escorted felt hearing href html http incident index inline iraq iraqi jail journalist judge kamal light maliki man members moktada moment mr muntader news nytimes official parliament people president reference sentence shoes shouted smile supporters timestopics topics trial visit years zaidi

created at TagCrowd.com

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi journalist who gained widespread acclaim throughout the Arab world for hurling his shoes at President Bush during a visit here in December was sentenced to three years in jail by a court on Thursday.

The journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, had pleaded not guilty, saying at a hearing last month that he was overcome by passion because of the suffering of the people of Iraq.

“In that moment, I saw nothing but Bush, and I felt the blood of the innocents flowing under his feet while he was smiling that smile,” he said at the hearing.

The trial was postponed at that time while a judge determined if Mr. Bush’s trip to Iraq was an official state visit, with the defense arguing that because it took place in the Green Zone, which was then controlled by the American military, it was not an official visit to Iraq.

Judge Abdulamir Hassan al-Rubaie declared at the start of Tuesday’s hearing that Mr. Bush’s visit was official, and Mr. Muntader was charged with aggression against a visiting head of state, a crime that under Iraqi law carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Before the verdict was read, all reporters were escorted from the courtroom. Moments after the decision, there was a brief period of pandemonium as dozens of family members and supporters expressed their outrage.

“Maliki is the son of a dog,” one woman screamed, referring to the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al- Maliki. “Maliki is an agent of Bush,” a man shouted.

Mr. Zaidi, under heavy police security, was quickly escorted from the court room as family members continued to protest.

As they spilled out of Iraq’s Central Criminal Court, a special body set up for major crimes, including terrorism, Mr. Zaidi’s lawyers —18 of whom were in court — said they would appeal the decision.

When Mr. Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr. Bush during the Dec. 14 news conference, the act seemed to capture a deeply felt emotion here. A statue depicting a large shoe was erected in Mr. Zaidi’s honor in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, though it was later ordered dismantled by the Iraqi Parliament. In countries from Egypt to Iran, shoe throwing became the means of expressing protest. In Saudi Arabia, it was reported that a man offered $10 million for one of the shoes.

Mr. Zaidi, 30, has been in jail since the incident and his lawyers have claimed that he was beaten while in custody. As he entered the courtroom on Thursday wearing a light brown suit, supporters gathered outside chanted: “Hero.”

Thursday’s short trial, lasting about an hour, got under way after the judge declared Mr. Bush’s visit official. The judge asked Mr. Zaidi if he had anything further to say in his defense.

“I am innocent,” he said. “It was a natural reaction to the crime of occupation.”

There was a lengthy statement by the defense team, arguing that the investigation was flawed and that the shoes were destroyed in an illegal manner. The defense also cited President Bush’s own wry comments about the Dec. 14 incident as evidence of the lightness of the offense.

After ducking the flying shoes at the news conference with Mr. Maliki, Mr. Bush joked that he believed the man wore a size 10, and added, “That’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves.”

“It was an insult not an assault,” said Dhiya al-Saadi, the leader defense attorney for Mr. Zaidi.

When the verdict was read, according to witnesses in the court, Mr. Zaidi shouted, “Long live Iraq.”

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Zaidi’s eldest daughter fainted, and his brother, Dhurgham al-Zaidi, said that he felt the court had decided the sentence even before the trial began.

Maha al-Dori, a Parliament member from the party of the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, said he felt the ruling showed the judges were motivated by political concerns.

“Muntader was sentenced to three years, and in the history of the Iraqi justice system, it was a set back,” he said. ♥

[Marc Santora is a Times correspondent in Baghdad.]

Copyright © 2009 The New York Times Company

Get the Google Reader at no cost from Google. Click on this link to go on a tour of the Google Reader. If you read a lot of blogs, load Reader with your regular sites, then check them all on one page. The Reader's share function lets you publicize your favorite posts.

Copyright © 2009 Sapper's (Fair & Balanced) Rants & Raves