The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: News

Oday al-Zeidi, center, a brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-President George W. Bush, reacts after his brother Muntadhar al-Zeidi was convicted of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday. The verdict came after a short trial in which Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charge and said his action was a "natural response to the occupation." (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD (AP) - A court convicted an Iraqi journalist of assault Thursday for hurling his shoes at George W. Bush and sentenced him to three years in prison, prompting an outburst from his family and calls for his release from Iraqis who consider him an icon for a nation decimated by war.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, defiantly shouted, "Long Live Iraq!" when the sentence was imposed, according to defense lawyers. Some of his relatives collapsed and had to be helped out of the courthouse. Others were forcibly removed by guards after shouting "Down with Bush!"

"This judiciary is unjust," al-Zeidi's brother, Dargham, said tearfully.

Other family members shouted insults against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who like al-Zeidi is a Shiite.

Although al-Zeidi received the minimum sentence - it could have been 15 years behind bars - his lawyers denounced the verdict and said they would appeal, possibly hoping a public outcry would aid their cause.

Al-Zeidi's brazen act during a Dec. 14 press conference by Bush and al-Maliki in Baghdad's Green Zone turned the young reporter into a folk hero across the Arab world, where the former U.S. president is reviled for invading Iraq in 2003 and for other policies.

Many Iraqis interviewed after the verdict believed the sentence was too harsh and that al-Zeidi was a hero for standing up to the American president. Supporters defended his act as a political statement in Arab culture, where throwing shoes at someone is considered an especially serious insult.

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